Introduction

Failure

Fear is a kind of unpleasant emotion that a person releases due to specific triggers which may be dangerous or may cause a threat or pain. When I think about fear, the first thing that comes to my mind is an event or situation that caused my body to react in a negative way or a one that kept me up all night. Everyone, regardless of how mature they are, has their own fears, but people experience them differently. For instance, some people fear spiders, but they can tolerate a room with spiders, while there are those who see spiders and they lose themselves. As for me, my greatest fear of all is the fear of failure which has ruled my life and prevented me from engaging in significant activities that would have benefited my life. The worst thing about fear is that it is an enemy of progress because with fear people tend to experience panic and anxiety, and these may hinder them from doing some things necessary for success.

Failure is my number one fear, and this fear has ruled my life. One of my highest aspirations is to make my parents proud, and I want to bring joy into their life, but the fear of not living up to my and their expectation is my number one worry. This fear has caused me to avoid taking significant risks reduced my level of self-confidence. There were times when I could experience this fear, and I decide to do nothing at all, leading me to have sleepless nights, and I almost got into depression. The fear of failure is major, and the feelings of anxiety and panic associated with it are terrible because they can cause one to miss out on the great things and opportunities in life. I have always let this fear take a better part of me, and the inner voice inside me is always telling me, “No, you cannot do that” or “What will people say when you fail?” It has always been about not disappointing myself and others for the choices I make. I still want to be the best and to do things which will alleviate my status. I fear to engage in things which will cause failure in my eyes.

How did I get this fear? Well, when I was a child, I was an overly confident person for I believed I could do anything even if it meant saving the world. The sky was the limit for me, but everything changed when my family moved places and relocated to a new state. I changed school, friends, church, and the environment; and the worst is that this situation changed how I viewed things. I began to see myself as less of a person compared to other students, and I could not even bring myself to answer any questions in class. I started to flop considerably, and I worried about my grades and how I would present them to my parents, and before I knew it, my fear of failure crept in my life. As years have progressed, the pressure of achieving my goals has only mounted, and the fear of not stepping up to the goals has increased. I always worry about spending a lot of resources on education and not reaping from the outcome because one failed to reach certain heights.

The funny part about me is that I never realized that I was worrying too much until recently when my mother pointed out when I was rumbling about not passing my entry exams. She said, “Why are you always a worrisome child, why do you always want to be the best? The good thing about failing is that it will give you room to learn and improve, and I want you to embrace that.” I could not believe how my mother’s words turned my life around. I was trying too hard to be the best and avoid failure in every possible way, but I was ruining my life in the process. I began to see my fear of failure from a positive point of view, and for once I wanted to fail to learn. I wanted to try new things and engage in new activities to see how far I can soar. It is amazing how words can speak a volume of emotions and change one’s life, and even though it took me years to listen to those words, it was not too late.

People tend to think of failure as a negative thing and as a definition of one’s potential and skills. However, this outlook, unfortunately, can prevent one from progressing and fulfilling their wishes. What if an individual could change their view about their fear of failure and embrace it instead? It may be different for some people, but for me, it only took words to change my view about failure. Even though it took some time, it was not too late.