Fears can develop in various ways: from a traumatic event, from painful memories, and even for no reason at all. Many of us fear certain things, and I am no exception. People might consider me a bit of a worry-wart or a scardy cat, but all of my fears and anxiety can be attributed to my biggest fear of all -- failure.
I don't know why I am so afraid to mess up or to make a mistake, but for some reason the thought of failing at something scares me. It is true that I am a bit of a perfectionist and that I try my best in everything that I do, but sometimes I try too much and it takes a physical toll on my health.
I believe that this fear developed because of my childhood. I am an only child so ever since I was little I have viewed myself as the only chance that my mom and dad have to be successful parents. That is a huge burden for an eight year-old girl to carry around. Because I was so afraid of my parents being disappointed in me or my grandparents being disappointed in my parents, I have created this fear of failing. I know deep down that I probably am doing alright and that my family is proud of me, but this fear is one that is not easily shaken.
As I am sitting here stressing over this blog and trying to make it sound perfect, I am thinking to myself, what can I do to overcome this fear of failing? So far the only solution I can think of is to relax and to picture myself doing well in the future. Fears, especially mental ones like this, are often hard to get rid of, but I'd imagine with time and practice, these types of fears can be suppressed and dealt with. I just have to learn how to enjoy life and to not stress out about everything all the time; it's going to be hard work!
I don't know why I am so afraid to mess up or to make a mistake, but for some reason the thought of failing at something scares me. It is true that I am a bit of a perfectionist and that I try my best in everything that I do, but sometimes I try too much and it takes a physical toll on my health.
I believe that this fear developed because of my childhood. I am an only child so ever since I was little I have viewed myself as the only chance that my mom and dad have to be successful parents. That is a huge burden for an eight year-old girl to carry around. Because I was so afraid of my parents being disappointed in me or my grandparents being disappointed in my parents, I have created this fear of failing. I know deep down that I probably am doing alright and that my family is proud of me, but this fear is one that is not easily shaken.
As I am sitting here stressing over this blog and trying to make it sound perfect, I am thinking to myself, what can I do to overcome this fear of failing? So far the only solution I can think of is to relax and to picture myself doing well in the future. Fears, especially mental ones like this, are often hard to get rid of, but I'd imagine with time and practice, these types of fears can be suppressed and dealt with. I just have to learn how to enjoy life and to not stress out about everything all the time; it's going to be hard work!
You and me both. I think that's why college seems so scary. I wrote a journal about this in Philosophy. I am so afraid of failing at everything and ruining my life.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally the same way! I've always been afraid of failing, but I'm not sure why. I like how you said that it isn't an easy fear to shake off because it definitely isn't. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and with the other comments. I have always been afraid of failing because of what other people may say. I'm not exactly sure why because I know that it shoulnd't matter what they think. Failing is something that is very difficult to overcome, but I know that people can make it through.
ReplyDeleteWow girl thanks for taking my fear...just kidding. This was an awesome post! I loved your introduction into it and it was awesome that you proposed a solution to your fear. I'm gonna have to try visualizing that myself sometime.
ReplyDeletei agree with ali! and i feel like i worry about failing too. i like how at the end you said,"I am thinking to myself, what can I do to overcome this fear of failing?" and then you had an answer to it. i like your post a lot! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, another one of my fears. I wrote about it in my personal narrative. I can't really relate to the whole only child thing because I'm the third child, but I can relate it in a different way. I often feel like the failure child because both of my sister's are so successful, so I'm like the screw-up. I'm constantly messing up. I'm am also a huge worry-wart like you. It's really a problem. I think about how much I screw up now, and I get even more scared when I think about how much I'm going to screw up next year when I'm on my own.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand this! I think we all suffer a little from this, some more that others. Seeing disappointment on faces of your loved ones can be the hardest thing to deal with. But don't worry, I bet/know you're family is VERY proud of you! You're a very smart, talented, kind, beautiful person. :)
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