Face Your Fears…..Make 2008 The Year You Realise Your Dreams
Helen Taylor, UK Creator of “The Knowledge Is Power Toolkit”
Hello
I hope you’ve all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year ahead.
Maybe you’re already thinking about your New Year resolutions…..and there lies the problem; most of us only ever think about them, we never carry them through to fruition. Whether it be to quit smoking, lose weight, get a new job, spend more quality time with your loved ones. At the time resolutions are made with all good intentions but generally by mid January they’re forgotten and we’re back into the daily grind and habits from previous years.
Why not make 2008 the year you change that pattern and your life for good?
In order to do that you need to understand why these resolutions have failed in the past. More often than not to carry through with your resolutions you have to step outside your comfort zone. Now this is true of nearly any resolution but more so if you’re thinking of changing jobs or trying to start a business to improve your quality of life and earning potential.
The fear of failure is a significant barrier and causes many people to take no action towards change. You listen to your inner critic that throws up many reasons not to take that leap of faith and once again inaction wins and so you go through yet another year being unsatisfied and frustrated with yourself.
I have worked extensively, albeit not exclusively, with female entrepreneurs over the past few years and much of the research cites fear of failure as being number 1 enemy to women wanting to start out in business.
I recently carried out some surveys of my own and interestingly the number of men who gave the fear of failure as the main obstacle to them starting a business out numbered the women. So you see, you are not alone it affects us all.
Here are just a few thoughts to bear in mind:-
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Failure is crucial to success- many of the well known and successful businessmen and women we respect now and in history had many failures before they succeeded.
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Persistence and learning from your failures will pay off eventually
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Don’t punish yourself if you fail; as long as you have made the best effort you can. Pick yourself up, brush yourself down and try again having learnt from past experience
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If looking for a change of job or to start a business, make sure it’s something you love and feel passionate about otherwise your enthusiasm will wane and it will become a chore
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Know when to give up and move on to try something else. Don’t waste money on a failing project.
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Understand that some risk is necessary. The more important something is, generally the more risk it has attached.
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It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Don’t spend your life wondering what may have been and living a life of regrets.
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Remember; Life is Not A Rehearsal
I recently watched the British Library’s profile programme on Stellios of Easy Jet fame….and guess what he actually quoted as being his biggest hurdle before he set up his business; “Fear of Failure”.
You can’t change the past but you can change the future and on that note I’ll leave you with a quote from Peter Drucker that sums it all up;
“The best way to predict the future is to create it“
Take care and Happy New Year
Helen Taylor
