I think Will Farrell really nailed it in his recent commencement address at the University of Southern California: "My fear of failure never approached in magnitude my fear of 'what if'. What if I never tried at all?”
Farrell admitted to his fear of becoming an actor. “I'd think to myself, ‘Oh well, I can always be a substitute schoolteacher’...I was afraid.” So he advised: “Trust your gut; keep throwing darts at the dartboard. Don’t listen to the critics and you will figure it out.”
Even years after college, many of us still fear failure. When we think about doing something new, lots of negative bells and whistles go off: This is a bad idea – so much can go wrong.
But what if you could turn your fear of failure into a passionate pursuit for growth and success? In other words: Fail Forward!
Think about failure in a positive light – if it happens, how can you learn and grow from it? Then you develop a growth mindset.
Here are three steps for failing forward with confidence.
- Start with your passion What's most important to you? What do you want to accomplish before you exit this precious life? For now, put aside all doubts and limiting beliefs, like: "I'm too old to start something new...I'm too inexperienced”…
- Identify strengths to help you move forward. Your strengths create your GPS for pursuing your passion. One way to recognize your strengths is to write down a time when you were at your very best. Then jot down all the strengths you displayed.
- Squash what's really holding you back: Your unfounded fears
Fear comes from the self-doubting, inner critic – “the Saboteur.” This ongoing commentary is an accumulation of things we all heard during our youth, leading us to question our abilities and worry about the outcome. Destroy those limiting beliefs – roadblocks to your happiness!
Monica Oliver, Sp '81, is a leadership consultant and certified executive coach at Monica Oliver Consulting in Bernardsville, N.J. She is also a member of the Marquette University Alumni Association National Board of Directors.
