Fear Of Failure

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Have you ever longed to do something, but been too afraid to actually try it?
I have been guilty of this so many times that I’ve lost count. As I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on my life lately, I can definitely see what has been the driving force behind so many decisions that I’ve made in my life: FEAR OF FAILURE

Sometimes we are so afraid to fail at something that we won’t even attempt anything new.
We become comfortable, complacent even, with what we know. The thought of any type of change can feel overwhelming.
I think that most of the times it’s not the fact that we don’t like change; but rather the fear of failure that causes us to stay in our current situation.

I’ve found the most rewarding times in my life have been when I’ve broken away from the familiar, accepted that I may fail, and pushed on anyway.

I remember when I was in high school, I always wanted to play soccer. I had played softball my whole life but had never attempted soccer. Well, my jr year, and I’m not sure how I mustered up the courage, but I tried out for and made the soccer team. I played the whole season. I wasn’t very good, but I sure enjoyed it. I think the fact that I was doing something new and conquering this fear of failure, added to the enjoyment for me. It taught me that I didn’t need to fear trying something new. It was the first time that I vividly remember battling that fear of failure and beating it.

Sometimes on our homeschooling journey we fall trap to that same fear of failure. The biggest difference now though, is that it doesn’t affect just us, but our children too. That can intensify this fear of failure so much that it is harder and stronger to cut through.

Maybe you can relate.
At the beginning of our homeschool journey(or before it even begins), those doubts start creeping in:
*What if I’m not patient enough?
*How will I find the time?
*Will my child actually listen to and learn from me?
*Do I have all the skills, money, tools necessary?

Although these questions are valid, they also represent our fear of failure.

Later in our homeschool journey, maybe we want(or our children want us to) explore a different style of teaching or a different curriculum.
We start coming up with our list of excuses:
*I already bought the books/supplies that we’re using!
*But __________ uses it and it works for her….
*You really enjoyed it when you were 4!
The list can go on and on.
Once again, some of these reasons are valid, but some are just excuses.
We have become confident and comfortable with the way things are.
What if……
FEAR OF FAILURE

Teaching our children that failures will happen is imperative. In order for them to truly become successful in life, they need to know that it’s ok to take chances, and perhaps fail.

I’ve been dreaming of moving to a warmer climate for as long as I can remember. It took some pretty powerful events happening in 2018 to finally persuade me to take the leap of faith. So now that my family has moved from WI to TN, I feel like I’ve overcome one more instance where I was allowing my fear of failure to control me.
No matter where this journey leads us next, or how long it lasts, I know that I have not failed. It may not pan out how I wanted it to, but that just makes it a learning opportunity, not a failure.

Even though I’ve often allowed the fear of failure to prevent me from many things in my life, I’m trying my hardest to show my children that failure isn’t something to be feared. Failure is something to learn from. Something to build from.

I challenge each one of you to look at your life and identify at least one instance where you are allowing fear of failure to define your path.
Once you’ve identified and accepted it, it’s time to decide how you will choose to overcome it.

To learn more about how I began my homeschooling journey, here’s my first blog post:

https://learningisawayoflife.com/how-my-journey-began/