Written by: Susan Francis, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Are you afraid of failing? Do you constantly feel like a failure no matter what you do? Are you constantly chasing the next goal? Do you think that when you hit that next level of $20K, $50k a month income, you will have “made” it, and you’ll no longer feel like a failure?
This was me. When I first started as a coach, I went through 9 months, making either $0 a month or maybe $500 a month. I definitely felt like a failure. I had always been a high achiever and had high expectations for myself, so failing was not okay. About 12 months ago, I finally broke through and started creating some epic results in my business. I created a $5K month and then a $16k month, and it kept growing. That might sound like amazing growth, but here's the thing, I still felt like I was failing. Every time I would hit a goal, I would set a new one, and so there was always a new target to reach.
You see, the fear of failure doesn't go away no matter how much you earn. It's a part of who you are. If you’re afraid of failing at $5K a month, I promise you will be afraid of failing at a $50K a month because you take you with you. In fact, the more you start to earn, often this feeling becomes more heightened because what if the income goes away? *gasp* There is a whole new level of fear. If you’re ambitious, you know that there will always be a new goal to set at every new level you reach.
When we seek to expand our business, it's not really the money or new clients we’re seeking; it’s the feeling that we are really chasing. If you want to grow your income or sales, it’s often because you want to experience the emotions of success, pride, abundance, freedom, and confidence.
When we are afraid of failing, we are attached to the outcome of all of our actions. We are constantly judging ourselves and measuring ourselves on the results. We are often afraid of feeling average, lacking, unsuccessful, unfree, or unabundant.
Here’s how this plays out. You take some action and hope for a certain result. The results aren’t coming as you would like, and you start to question yourself. Why am I failing? What am I doing wrong? What if this doesn't work? I’m no good at this. I might have to give up and get a job I hate. What if I can't create the income I want? What if I can't buy my dream house? Sound familiar?
You start to attach a meaning to the results that you're getting. You believe that you're not creating the results that you desire means that you're failing, that you're not enough. This is what it's really about. You don't feel enough as you are, and you're trying to fill the void by achieving something. You are looking for external validation that would make you feel successful or enough.
It’s the feeling you're really chasing. Yes, you want the money, the success, but it's really about the feeling you're hoping to achieve. Only you never achieve it because there will always be more. It’s never about achieving the goal. It's always about chasing emotions we want to feel and running away from the ones we are scared of.
Don’t fret though. All is not lost. You can choose to let this go. When I finally let it go, I 10x my income in 30 days, so trust me when I say it's SO powerful to release this.
Steps to release the fear of failure:
Journal on the following. Yes, journal. Put the computer away and put pen to paper. It’s a powerful way to focus the mind. Journaling has changed my life. When you ask yourself powerful questions, you receive powerful answers.
1. First, identify the goal you are chasing and then write down the feelings you believe this goal will bring you (e.g. feelings of success, pride, freedom, abundance, etc.)
2. Ask yourself what it will mean to you if you achieve this goal? (Recognize these are the things you are really chasing.)
3. What will it mean to you if you don't get the goal? What's really underneath this? What feelings do you avoid? What are you afraid of? (Often, it’s the feeling of being not enough, lacking, unworthy, unfree, and etc.)
4. Now close your eyes, take some deep breaths and ask yourself:
What's really the truth here?
What do I know to be true about myself at a soul level?
What have I already achieved in my life?
What am I grateful for in my business?
What am I so proud of already?
What flows from this place will always be positive and reassuring, which is the truth of who you are. Repeating this frequently will shift your energy, your focus, and most importantly, how you feel.
When you can deeply connect to your truth, knowing that:
You are so worthy, you are enough, and you are successful right now no matter what.
Then, your life will shift.
When you recognize that you don't need to hit the goal to be enough, you don't need to hit the goal to prove anything to anyone, and you don't need to hit the goal to feel successful, then you find a new sense of peace. You find a new sense of calm, and the actions you take will be different as you're not chasing. It doesn't mean anything about you. You desire it. It would be fun, but whether or not you achieve it doesn't mean anything about you. When you finally let go of the fear you've been hanging on to so tightly, you’ll realize you don't need anything outside of you to feel ok, and from that place, you are finally a match to your desires, and abundance can flow.
If you’re ready to let go of the fear of failure now, then head to my free Facebook group, Soul Aligned Business Babes, where I just did a free training on how I let this go and 10 x my income in 30 days.
To dive deeper, you can also listen to my podcast episode on this topic at Soul Aligned Business Babes Podcast.
Follow Susan on Facebook, Instagram, join the Facebook community for regular live training, learn more on the website, or listen to the Soul Aligned Business Babes podcast.
Susan Francis, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Susan Francis is a leading Mindset, Manifestation, and Business Mentor and Coach empowering female entrepreneurs to create more income and impact their soul-aligned businesses. She helps women unlock the truth of who they are, helps them to step into their full power, and teaches them the secrets to taking quantum leaps in their success. She believes life was meant to be easy, to feel good, to flow, and you can create anything you damn well want! With a background in senior management in the fashion industry, she escaped the 9 to 5 hustle after her daughter's birth to follow her passion for helping other women create epic time and financial freedom. Trained in NLP and Time Line Therapy and obsessed with the Law of Attraction, she knows at a very deep level that everything is an inside job, and as she helps clients make shifts in their mindset, and energy they become magnetic to their dream lives and business success.
