Everyone fears making mistakes from time to time, but if you’re constantly worrying that you’re going to mess up or make a fool of yourself, you could be holding yourself back in life or feeling stuck. Don’t let fear be what prevents you from getting what you want and feeling excited about life. Here are 11 things that you can do to overcome your fear of making mistakes.
1. Deal With Feelings Of Shame.
All the messages we hear around us involve being strong and fearless. But this is unrealistic. The fear itself doesn’t have to be bad, as long as we deal with it and avoid letting ourselves be shamed by it. Face your fears to explore what’s behind them. Why do you fear making mistakes? Are you scared of being judged/criticized/being exposed as not good enough? Once you’ve stripped the fear to see what’s behind it, you can deal with it.
2. Challenge Your Fears.
Now that you know what you’re really afraid of, you can challenge it. So, if you’re scared that making a mistake at work will get you judged by your co-workers, challenge the fear by telling yourself that you’ll learn from the mistake. Or, if you’re afraid that you’ll never reach your goal, remind yourself that mistakes can help you figure out the best path forward.
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4. Grab A Dose Of Reality.
When you’re breaking down your fears, try to see situations realistically so you don’t catastrophize. So, if you’re afraid you’ll be judged, remind yourself that people aren’t out to get you. Or, if you’re afraid that your date will think you’re too much, remind yourself that you’ve got many positive traits that people love.
5. Don’t Burn Out.
When faced with a persistent fear of making mistakes, you might think you have to push hard to achieve your goals so you don’t slip up. Or, you should do loads of overtime at work so you get on top of your workload. But, ensure you look after yourself and maintain a healthy work-life balance otherwise you could end up burning out and getting stressed out. This, ironically, could cause you to make mistakes!
6. Laugh At Your Negative Thoughts.
Negative thoughts are common with a strong fear. So, if you fear making mistakes, the critical voice in your head could tell you that you’re never going to make it or you’re a failure. Instead of taking these thoughts seriously all the time, sometimes it’s liberating to reply to them with, “So what?” Laughing at them can also help you de-stress. Don’t believe everything you think ’cause a lot of it isn’t based on fact.
7. Stop Overthinking It.
Do you read and re-read emails tons of times before sending them? Or, do you spend triple the amount of time on tasks to ensure everything you’ve done is perfect? Although it’s good to have a keen eye on details and work hard, this is OTT and it’s causing you to miss deadlines and get stressed out. Stop overthinking! Once you’ve checked your work, tell yourself out loud that it’s done and hit the send button.
8. Avoid Procrastination Cold Feet.
Maybe, instead of burning out, you try to avoid starting new projects because you’ve got such cold feet about messing up. It’s like you’re walking around too scared to jump into the cold water of a swimming pool. When procrastinating out of fear, do a small task related to it to dip your toe into the water. Once you get started, you’ll probably feel more confident about it.
9. Visualize The Best Outcomes.
Instead of allowing yourself to be ruled by your fears, imagine the amazing things that could happen if you take the leap and try something new. Try to visualize them daily as you can manifest them into existence. So, imagine yourself accepting an award, completing a difficult project, and so on. This can help to calm you down and feel more positive.
10. See Failure As A Good Thing.
Failure doesn’t have to be shrouded in lots of negativity. It can be good! Think of how so many inventors experienced failure tons of times, but it sharpened their skills and helped them succeed. Reframe failure so you can see it in a positive way. So, if you mess up at work, it might show you how to improve yourself. Or, if you make a mistake when choosing a partner, you’ll learn what you don’t want. When you do this, you’ll be able to learn from it and you won’t fear it so much.
11. Choose Curiosity Over Fear.
When you’re paralyzed by a fear of making a mistake, pretend you’re doing the task for the first time. This will help you to see it with curiosity instead of fear. So, if you have to write a report for work, research how to do it and cultivate a sense of genuinely wanting to learn about it. Or, if you’re going on a first date and you’re freaked out that you’re going to make a bad first impression, try to focus on what you can learn about the person you’re meeting.
12. Work On Your Process, Not The Outcome.
Instead of thinking about how things will turn out, focus on making the journey and process successful. If you’re afraid of failing an exam, you can’t control what happens on the day of the exam, but you can control how you prepare for it. Similarly, you might be scared of rejection on a date for expressing your quirks, but you can’t control that. You can work on boosting your confidence. See? It’s more empowering to focus on what you can do RN instead of get swamped by fear.
