How You Can Defeat the Fear of Failure

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to success for most people is fear of failure. It prevents them from starting. It makes them excessively risk adverse. It can paralyze you. Do not let this common problem prevent you from realizing your aspirations.

Identify the Problem

The first step in defeating fear of failure is to recognize it. Are you a person who is constantly putting off things to wait for the right time? Are you suffering analysis paralysis where you spend days planning and analyzing the situation and never feeling you know enough to act? Does any form of risk, even calculated risk, prevent you from taking the next step? It is wise to carefully study your problem or goal and make sure you know what is at stake. It is prudent to investigate situations thoroughly and do your due diligence. However there must be a limit to this. Once you have done the due diligence you must be prepared to act or abandon the idea for good reason.

Lay the Foundation for Confidence

After you analyze your situation and determine that you are stopped by fear of failure it is time to lay a secure foundation to give yourself the confidence to move forward. Let's use the example of buying a piece of investment property. Due diligence requires that you thoroughly inspect the property for any defect. You will draw up a list of repairs that need to be done. If necessary you will arrange for an expert property inspection. You order a preliminary title report to assure clear title. You chat with neighbors of the property to determine if the history of the property is actually what the seller told you. You make necessary arrangements for financing and you do research on local rental rates so you can compute a reasonable cash flow analysis.

This is not an exhaustive list of real property acquisition due diligence, it is merely an example. Once you have done all the work to insure you know what you are getting into, how you are going to structure the deal and what your exit strategy may be, you have done your due diligence.

Know Your Genuine Limits

Write down a list of your actual limitations. It may be how much time you have to devote to an endeavor. If you are already working a 60 hour week, for example, how much time do you have left over to devote to a home based business? Be realistic but do not be negative. Explore all the possible options available to you. Analyze your financial situation and make a reasonable estimate of what you can afford. If you have a limit that makes your goal unattainable you can abandon it and go on to something that is attainable.

When listing your limitations however be careful not to see limits where there are none. Do not assume that everything that could possibly go wrong will. Do not be dominated by a disaster mindset. Disaster is always a possibility in everything we undertake but if we allow this fear to stop us we will never succeed at anything.

Distinguish Calculated Risk from Blind Risk

Risk adverse people are afraid of every possible risk. Prudent people calculate risk by being fully informed. Once the calculated risk is reasonable you can move forward. This is not the same as blind risk where someone steps into a situation without any information or any risk calculation.

Make a Plan

Now that you have all the reasonably necessary information and have calculated any reasonable risks you are prepared to make your plan. This is crucial because if you have a sound and well thought out plan you are not driving blind. You know what you need to do, when you need to do it and how you will get it done. This gives you tremendous confidence.

Act

Now it is time to take action. You have done all the research you reasonably need to do, you have calculated the risk, and you have a solid plan. There is no longer any purpose to be served in waiting. It is now time to do it.

Start with smaller plans and goals that involve lower levels of risk. If you are investing in real estate for example, do not start out buying a 50 unit apartment complex, start out buying a small single family residence. You then work up to higher risk endeavors as you build experience and knowledge. As you succeed in one endeavor after another you gain further confidence and the fear of failure becomes less of a problem.

Taking risks can be scary. Most significant goals or projects will inevitably have some level of risk. Being nervous about signing on the dotted line, whether you are buying a car, investing, or anything else, will cause some stress. This is normal and if you feel no concern at all about what you are doing it may be a sign that you are over confident.

However, once you lay the groundwork we have discussed here and gained some confidence over time you will find the fear of failure no longer prevents you from succeeding.

Daniel R. Murphy writes on success and how you can build wealth. Would you like to learn how others have been successful in business and in life? For a free success ebook and much information which can help make you successful and financially independent visit http://www.bookstowealth.com. Begin your self-education today learning how others have become successful and rich! Do it today!