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Why do we fear failure?

We all know failure happens when we don't succeed at what we intend to do. It's a fear that can inhabit our personal or professional lives or even both simultaneously.

Although it’s scary to investigate the root cause of your fear of failure, it's a necessary step to overcome it.

Four potential causes of fear of failure:

1. Our upbringing: Our parents might have been critical of our actions as children. Perhaps they never supported our dreams and passions, or they never let us forget our failures.

2. Experiencing traumatic events: Some traumatic events scar us for life, causing us to avoid any situation that reminds or could remind us of those incidents.

3. Being bullied as a child: Maybe other kids teased us for not being good enough, which taught us that our failure is a joke or leads to mockery.

4. Low self-esteem and confidence: If we don't believe in ourselves, we'll accept that all we're capable of is a failure. Our negative self-talk will overrun our brains and convince us to fear the failure of all kinds.

You should be proud of your efforts and hard work. Rather than limit yourself to only doing things you know you'll do perfectly, accept that mistakes happen. That’s how you learn. A growth mindset teaches us to see the value in making mistakes. You can either view failure as the end of the world or as a learning opportunity.

Failure isn't rare. Even the most successful people fail and continue to fail.

Our fear of failure is often reflected in our behavior through our actions and choices. The most notable behavior is self-sabotage, which stops us from taking any sort of action. Self-sabotage results from extreme anxiety.

Research has found that fear of failure causes people to experience anxiety and learned helplessness and underachieve on goals, and reduces resilience. This encourages them to protect themselves, which may fall under the category of self-sabotage.