Do you remember any time in your past when you got a low grade at school?

Do you remember a specific time when you couldn't win the game for your team?

How did it make you feel? Were you sad or angry?

Do you believe that you did your best but still ended up failing to reach your goal?

Our society and culture only honour the people who are number one. No one remembers the second position holder or third position holder. Success has only one meaning. Be at the top and be first; else, you are a loser.

What if there was another way?

Our life does not need to be a competition all the time. Although the results are important along with the rewards that go with them, it's the feelings that make all the difference.

Fear is an interesting emotion. While most emotions are focused on the past, fear is based on the perception of the future.

When we fear failure, we think about disapproval from our peers, mates and family. We imagine negative situations like “No one will like me”, “I am incapable”, “I am hopeless and worthless”.

We doubt our knowledge, skills, and experience. We forget how far we have come and what we have learned in the process.

Perhaps the best way to deal with the fear of failure is to have faith in our abilities. We need to believe in second chances and if we are failing, think about the longer-term.

What can we do:

- Practice gratitude. Be thankful for the opportunities presented and learnings from the same

- Practice your skills and focus on mastery.

- Practice making your responses automatic by creating habits that help you move forward

- Learn to trust yourself and practise responding to failures as missed opportunities. There will always be a next time.

- Practice experimenting with your ideas, assuming that even if you fail, you will learn.

Fearing failure is not a bad thing. One must understand that the path to success and satisfaction is through repeated failures and disappointments.