Fear of failure and fear of success
It’s football season again and within the past couple of weeks, two of the arguably best players of all time spoke about how the fear of failure has affected them.
Jerry Rice (website link) said in his Hall of Fame speech, “I was afraid to fail. I’m here to tell you that the fear of failure is the engine that has driven me throughout my entire life. … Not wanting to disappoint my parents and later my coaches, is what pushed me to be successful.” (sfgate.com link of full interview)
Brett Favre (website link) identified the fear of failure as the thing that held him up from about returning to play this year. He stated on national TV during last weeks preseason game, “I can only control what I do, but I don’t want to fail.” (NBC Sports)
So Jerry Rice spoke of this fear as his ally. Brett Favre spoke of it as something he had to overcome. But what about the rest of us? How does fear of failure affect us?
Fear of failure is often prevents us from even trying (like it almost did for Brett). This of course becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for our “I will fail” belief system. It often comes from the fear of disapointing someone that we wanted to be proud of us (like it was for Jerry).
Bart Anderson, spiritual teacher, was listening to his students speak about the fear of failure one day. He wasn’t buying it. He said, “People who are afraid of failure are usually really successful.” (Hmm… like Jerry Rice or Brett Favre?) He continued, “You (referring to the students) have created an awful lot of failure for people that are afraid of it. It seems more like a comfort zone for you. You are afraid of success.”
The fear of success is the fear of having to challenge your belief systems about yourself and subsequently having to reevaluate everything.
Whichever it is for you, what matters is that you overcome it. Both football greats did. After all, it is only fear and not real- no need to have it control your life.
About author:
Michael Hoffman’s passion is guiding people to connect with their natural gifts. He believes that we all have innate gifts that hugely benefit others and the world when we offer them. The purest example of these gifts is the Native American concept of medicine or the gift you offer your people. Michael defines your medicine or gift as the natural effect you have on other people when your heart is open. Unfortunately, the demands of our current culture to comply and fit in often distract people away from their inherent gifts and the natural expression of their being. Michael believes many of us have forgotten our dreams and what we are about. This sadly results in a loss of purpose, passion, and vitality. As an innate gift specialist, Michael offers retreats, classes, and individual sessions to allow people to reclaim their natural gifts. These venues allow people to identify, awaken, and offer their gifts. This experiential work incorporates Zen thought, Native American ceremony, rites-of-passage, and releasing limiting belief systems. Michael also maintains his meta blog to provide knowledge, skills, and awareness for unfolding your natural gifts. He is currently compiling this knowledge and research into a college class and book. Michael earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 1987 and Master of Social Work in 1996. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. In addition to his formal education, Michael studied and apprenticed with a Zen Master and spiritual teacher for 22 years to learn how to guide people to understand themselves. He has worked with people professionally since 1986 as a psychotherapist and teacher. Michael currently resides in Oceanside, California.
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Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.
Thank you. I have been blogging since September of 2009.