In the last part of our series, Overcoming Your Fear of Freelancing, we are talking about the fear of failure.
Now, if you haven’t read the first two blogs in this series, I encourage you to read those and then come back to this one.
How To Master Your Freelancing Fears: The Fear Of Getting Started
How To Master Your Freelancing Fears: The Fear Of Rejection
These are 3 common fears I hear all the time from moms considering starting a freelance business. They wonder if they can do it or if they will fail.
Like I said in the other two posts of this series, my goal with this is to break down those common fears of freelancing and share strategies to help more moms overcome their freelancing fear of failure.
So, if your fear of failure is holding you back from success this part of the series is for you. You will learn how to address the fear and a framework for creating an actionable plan to work through the fear. Because thinking about “what does life look like when I succeed?”, is way more fun than thinking “what if I fail?”
Read on to find out how I came to terms with failure and the tools I used to help me succeed.
The Fear Of Failure
Growing up I hated getting out of my comfort zone, being different, and putting myself out there. I remember getting a stomach ache when my mom signed me up for a summer camp and I didn’t have a friend there with me. I remember going to family functions as a little kid with a huge family, and when it was time to go get food, I would wait and hang back until my mom walked with me to go get a plate of food.
The thought of being out there in front of people, making a mistake, and failing tore me apart. All these fears basically controlled me growing up.
The few times I worked up the courage to put myself out there, and try something new. I failed or it didn’t go as planned. So I started to associate trying new things with failure.
I’m sharing these stories from my past because if you are someone who is scared to get out of their comfort zone or you fear failure that is not how things have to be moving forward!
Looking back on all those experiences, I can see now that it wasn’t getting out of my comfort zone that was the failure. It was not being dedicated or having a plan to get better after things didn’t go my way the first time. That’s what caused me to give up.
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How To Overcome Your Fear Of Failure:
Make a plan and take action.
1. Make a decision
First, you need to decide, is this something that you want?
If the answer is yes, then remember your why. It will help you find the motivation to work through the fear of failure and keep going.
2. Take action
Next, take action and remember you are never going to feel ready to get out of your comfort zone. You just have to do it!
Commonly, moms in the program will get stuck in this thinking, planning, and learning phase because it’s comfortable.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s good necessary to make a plan. But part of your plan needs to include actionable steps or you’re going to get stuck in this planning phase. So, what actionable steps can you take to move your plan forward?
Could it be sending a cold pitch to an ideal client that you’ve wanted to send for weeks but haven’t had the courage to?
Could it be commenting on the hire thread for posts that sound like you could be a good fit for, but you keep talking yourself out of commenting?
What is one actionable thing you can do today to move your plan forward and take action?
Taking action will propel your business forward toward success.
Through my journey of starting and growing a business, I have learned that failure and success are not endpoints. Failure and success are ever-evolving and changing.
I no longer quit when something does not go my way the first time. I reevaluate, make a plan, and take action to move my business toward my goals.
Failure and success are not an either-or situation but a continuous cycle.
If I try this, I will either be successful or I will fail. And the truth is when you try something new, you may fail. But each failure and each success will teach you something. It will make you better for next time.
Just because fear has held you back before does not mean it has to work out like that this time.
You can choose not to let fear control you and not let it set you back. You have to choose to not give up. Then take steps to move forward toward success. What are those steps?
The Live Free Academy course will help you make a plan with actionable steps along the way. Learn more here! This course will help you just like it has helped so many other moms leave their freelancing fears behind!
