SALT LAKE CITY -- The fear of failure is one of the most common obstacles holding people back from reaching their potential in life. This fear prevents people from trying new things, taking risks and moving ahead financially.

A fear of failure also incorporates a fear of looking bad, being embarrassed or being rejected. It stops people from being unique, as it encourages them to conform to win the approval of others. Many give up their identity for this fleeting validation.

Is this fear a factor for you? How many of the following describe you?

• Do you avoid people and prefer to spend time alone?
• Do you refrain from sharing your opinions with others because it feels safer not to?
• Do you struggle to say no and, if possible, avoid the person all together?
• Are you afraid to take risks, try new things or venture from your comfort zone?

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Breaking through a fear of success

Do you procrastinate? Are you busy but not productive? Do you start projects but drop the ball before they're done? Do you feel like something is holding you back from success — and that something might be you? You may be experiencing a fear of success.

If you said yes to any of these, you may be suffering from a fear of failure.

This fear often stems from a traumatic experience some people may have had as a child, which is now hindering your progress as an adult.

Here are six ways to eliminate the fear of failure from one's life:

1. Identify the worst case scenario. Imagine yourself in that worse-case scenario. Is it as bad as your subconscious mind wants you to think it is? Chances are, you could handle it, live and be stronger for it.As Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” Decide that living life to the fullest is more important.
2. Take action and do something - break out of your comfort zone. An English proverb says, "He who never makes mistakes never makes anything."Taking any positive action builds confidence. Try new things, be innovative, be creative, and you will be surprised how much you learn, regardless of the results. Every step in the right direction makes the next step less scary. If you fail, make it a point to keep going and try again. Don't let failure stop you from taking more action
3. Don’t take failure personally. Jonathon Brown from the University of Washington found that people lacking self-esteem take failure personally. They think failure means they aren’t smart, competent or good enough. Confident people understand that failure is about the issue or the technique. It isn’t about them.You can’t be a failure. Failure is an event, not a person. Many of us attach our self-worth to mistakes. This makes no sense. You are not the idea, the performance, the property or the experience. You are the amazing being who will learn and grow from the experience.
4. Expect to fail some of the time, because everyone does.

“I have not failed," said Thomas Edison. "I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

Failure makes you stronger and smarter. Most affluent people will tell you that they failed their way to the top.

Paul Graham said, “Managers at big companies prefer to hire someone who tried to start a start-up and failed over someone who spent the same time working at a big company.”

People who have tried and failed know more than people who never tried.

1. When you fail, embrace the experience.What does it feel like? What is it showing you about yourself? How can you use the experience to make you stronger? Turn it into a positive. What can you learn from it? How can it make you better? Be good at failing. Most successful people are.
2. Work on building your self esteem by choosing trust and love.Loving other people creates feelings of self worth. The more you love others, the more you like who you are. You can only feel one emotion at a time. When you actively focus on love, all fear disappears. They also recommend practicing trust. Trust your value isn’t on the line at all. Trust your value is infinite and absolute. Trust your journey is perfect and you are perfectly who you are meant to be right now. Trust that you cannot fail. There are no mistakes, only lessons. You are here to learn and grow. That is the purpose of your life. It is time to get out there and live it, take some risks, make some mistakes and start learning. “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one," said Elbert Hubbard.

   Kimberly Sayer Giles is the founder and president of LDS Life Coaching and www.claritypointcoaching.com and was named one of the top 20 Advice Guru's in the country by GMA. She is a popular speaker and life coach who resides in Bountiful, Utah.

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