Fear is one thing that holds us back from doing most of the things that we are capable of. Fear is powerful. That is why throughout history, kings and monarchs have used fear as their essential tool to rule over nations. Fear makes us incapable of what we are actually very much capable. Fear holds us back. Fear destroys the ability to think.
One of the worst forms of fear is the fear of failure. As humans, we all want to succeed. We all want to be appreciated for what we do. We all want to be recognized and received well. And suddenly we are struck hard by a reality called failure.
For writers, failure is almost synonymous to life. No, I am not saying that being a writer is a failure. That would just destroy my own purpose in life. But failure comes easy and quick for writers. Literature is subjective. What you may consider good literature, I might find intolerable. Fear of failure, for writers, is almost synonymous to fear of rejection.
This fear can be dangerous for writers. Most of the times, writers are restrained from great things only because of this failure. You might think it is something that everyone carries in their heart, and also it is alright to do so. But trust me, it is not. As a writer, fear of failure can damage you at much more fundamental levels than any other professional.
It blocks your creativity
Writers are creative animals. They create stories, places, people and sometimes, even words. Creativity is the utmost important quality of a writer. And do you know what the fear of failure can do to your creative energy? Do you realize how damaging this fear is for you? This fear is going to block all your creativity till it dies inside of you; a slow painful death. This fear stops you from innovating, from coming up with new ideas and concepts.
It stops you from trying out new things, methods
Even if, by some means you can keep the creative part of your brain working, this beast named fear is going to stop you from actually trying new things out. It will stop you from taking risks and plunging into something new. It will create multiple layers of fear within you, including fear of risk and fear of mediocrity. It’s a monster, I am telling you.
It makes you lose time
Let’s face it; we do spend a lot of time thinking about the possibility of fear. Fear is the worst enemy you can have when it comes to losing and wasting time. We spend time unnecessarily anticipating possible failure. We try to live it in our head and get used to it; before it actually can even happen. Fear makes you lose time by preventing you from doing what you are supposed to. It is a trap.
It makes you lose self confidence
Fear of failure slowly, but steadily compels you to lose faith in yourself. When we do something, the sheer belief in one’s self needs to be the driving force behind it. You will do something because you CAN do something – because you do have the ability to do something. But this fear makes you stops doing things; at least slows it down.
It affects your health
Fear of failure causes stress. Stress in turn causes headache, elevated blood pressure, insomnia, binge eating of comfort (read junk) food, irregular meal timing, ignoring your health completely, too much coffee, and only the almighty knows what more. Stress also blocks your creative side further and starts complementing the fear, turning things much worse.
Understand this, fear will only hold you back and will stop you from doing what you need to. Do not live a life of ‘What if’s and regrets – Because that would be a truly tragic life to live.
Image credit: Sara on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
Abhinanda Banerjee is a full-time freelance writer and stage actor. She’s an avid reader, culinary enthusiast, and lover of everything about the sixties.