Here's how you can conquer your fear of failure in your career.

In addition to evaluating potential outcomes, it's important to consider the potential rewards of taking calculated risks. While there's always a chance of failure, successful risk-taking can lead to significant professional growth, advancement, and innovation. Weigh the potential benefits against the possible drawbacks to make more informed decisions about which risks are worth taking. Recognize that taking calculated risks involves stepping outside of your comfort zone. So embrace discomfort as a natural part of the growth process and an opportunity to expand your horizons. Cultivate a mindset of resilience and adaptability, knowing that setbacks are temporary and can ultimately lead to greater success in the long run.

Success is a lot of failures until its not. Having a healthy fear of failure is only human, but it shouldn't hold you back from taking the risk in your career anyway. In fact, I argue that failure cements important life lessons more effectively than nearly anything else. So in order to create a well-rounded knowledge base, learn as much from textbooks and workshops as you do from real life experience. Take as many risks, within reason, as you can. And when you lose, learn to lose gracefully and take from the experience that which can help you grow.

The best communicators voraciously consume content from multiple sources - books, newspapers, TV/radio news, podcasts, documentaries, etc. It ensures readiness for whatever comes your way. Staying up to date on news within and beyond your industry is a huge advantage and instills confidence in your ability to synthesize information, provide context, and ensure relevance.

People like what they're good at and they're good at what they like. Play to your strengths or you're in for an uphill battle. Your unique strengths set you apart from others. Don't try to be someone you're not. When you work in alignment with your strengths, you tend to be more productive, engaged, and motivated. This prompts positive reinforcement and fuels continuous improvement. It's estimated that 80% of results come from 20% of effort IF that effort is in your performance strike zone. Track how much time in a typical day/week you spend utilizing your strengths. Aim for 80% and use the other 20% to improve your weaknesses.

Bouncing back from a setback isn't just a good skill to have, it's a must. How quickly you recover from failure is one of the most significant talent differentiators. Interestingly, elite athletes often have an advantage because they are accustomed to "coaching" which often entails constructive criticism. The best coaches reframe setbacks as stepping stones and help maintain focus on the end goal.

This question speaks of the unspoken elephant in the room: what if I fail? Who decides if you fail at your career? Is it your parents? Your spouse? Your bank account? Your career is lifelong, and numerous milestones create the life you love to live. You need to decide your success metric; don't let anyone else decide for you. Finally, if you embarked on your career as a series of life experiences, imagine the amazing opportunities you could try. Failure and career are not correlated and the only risk is failing to live the life you want because you were too scared to try new things for work. I urge you to change your mindset and start thriving at work roles that help you build the life you love. ‘Feel the fear & do it anyway. Susan Jeffers’