4 steps to overcoming the fear of failure in your races
/How do I overcome fear of failure when it comes to my races?
Step 1: Add in ‘DO’
When you say ‘I have a fear of failure’ it is first important to note that you’ve stated it as a fact, ‘I have a fear of failure about/around….’ .
The problem with this is that there's no alternative to feeling fear around failure about a situation. You have a fear, it's about failing and that's it. There's not really much wiggle room or way out of this feeling or mindset.
So you need to add ‘do’ into your sentence.
I am DOING a fear around failing. Now, instead of it being a statement it’s become something you're doing. You're claiming back your personal power and this is a very powerful place to be, because if you’re DOING fear of failure, what can you DO INSTEAD that’s more helpful and life-enhancing?
Step 2: Open up an alternative way of thinking and feeling
I always ask my athlete when they say, ‘I'm doing fear of failure’, what would you love to do instead? How would you love to feel and think about X instead?
And now we’re opening a door for a new life-enhancing way of feeling.
Often they'll say, I want to feel really confident, powerful, strong and know that I can crush it.
Step 3: Re-create the narrative using visualisation
Next, we look at the best strategy to help them get all of that - which nearly always involves a powerful form of visualization to re-wire their brain.
This is because you tell yourselves a story around this failure, usually unintentionally and unconsciously, and it’s usually a totally made-up story about a potentially future events. And this story is often a mixture of detailed images, videos, sounds etc.
For example, it could be a fear of failure around your race because you’re thinking one or more of' ‘ I'm really bad at changing tires, I don't think I'm good enough, I'm a slow swimmer/runner, I'm really weak on the bike, I'm not gonna hit the time, I'm gonna miss the shot etc.
And the more you repeat the story, the more it becomes reality and reinforces this fear.
So the second thing you want to do is to really dive deep into how would you love to feel instead? Recreate the narrative, by re-imagining the images, videos, sounds, self talk, and make sure all of it is now aligned with your goals.
And you MUST use powerful, positive productive language.
Instead of saying, I'm a slow swimmer, say I'm a fast swimmer, I'm swimming as fast as I can, or I'm getting better and better every single day or I'm the best swimmer I can be.
Start consistently thinking these things and writing them down into your story of you smashing your race, or your goal: What would that feel like and look like?
Step 4: Strengthen the neuropathways for the reality you want to create
Fourthly, every time that voice or image comes up saying, ‘hey, you're going to fail’ or ‘you feel the fear in your body’, step into your powerful positive visusalisation and repeat the incredible mantras/thoughts to yourself.
This will stop the signals really activating and strengthening your neuropathways around fear and failure and the situation.
And using this visualization and life-enhancing words around how you're going to crush it, and how really, really amazing it feels to crush it, you’re now activating and strengthening your neuropathways around confidence, power, strength, fun, enjoyment etc.
The more you do this, the more you activate and strengthen these neuropathways and the weaker and weaker the old, unhelpful neuropthways become, and harder they are to trigger.
This is because your brain is like a group of muscles, the more you train and strengthen one set of neuropathways the stronger, faster, better they become at their job. The less you train and strengthen the unhelpful neuropathways, the weaker and weaker they become, because you're activating them less and less and less.
If you're at the gym and you were to just strengthen your right arm it would get super strong and your left arm would get weaker and weaker.
That's how your brain works, you want to strengthen the best neuropathways so they become really strong and your new normal.
Now it’s over to you, let me know how you get on with overcoming your fear of failure in the comments below!
