How to Overcome the Fear of Failure
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Before anyone takes the journey to go remote, the first battle they will face is the one within. Doubts and fears will start to creep up into your mind. Internally you may start to question your ability to execute, whether we are worthy enough, whether you are skilled or experienced enough.
And the big one… “What if I fail?”
Let’s explore that.
Fear of failure is a huge block that prevents many people from pursuing their dreams of working remotely from anywhere in the world.
If we dive deeper we can see here the real fear is, “What will happen if I fail?” rather than the failure itself. From an ego-driven place, most people’s biggest fear is what other people will think if you fail, or perhaps your own ego will be cracked. But let’s consider the logic.
Failure is When You Decide to Give Up.
First, let’s define failure. Failure, simply put, is when you decide to give up.
On the journey to going remote, you may fumble and fall along in the way, in fact, it’s likely inevitable that you’ll face some sort of roadblock. The power lies in learning from those “hiccups”. It’s about a willingness to learn and grow from those hiccups - rather, dust yourself off and try again (Ok, didn’t mean to reference the Aaliyah song but, hey).
Learning lessons along the way are not failures. They may require you to take a longer or more challenging path, but they still lead to the same outcome. So many people confuse a roadblock or learning opportunity as a failure. They are not. They are lessons to help you grow and get better at what you’re doing.
Failure is when you CHOOSE (keyword being “choose”) to give up on pursuing a goal. So you have full control and the choice of whether or not you “fail”.
What’s Your Worst-Case Scenario?
Now, let’s consider the worst-case scenario of some of these “roadblocks” or “hiccups”.
Say you’re a bit more risk-averse and jump into the digital nomad lifestyle as I did - without a plan, booking a one-way ticket to a different country, and only enough money to survive for a month. Finding a remote job in 4-weeks is a lot of pressure.
At the start of my journey, my laptop broke which is essential to working online and I simply didn’t have the money for a new one. So, as one would, I cried in the middle of a grocery store. “That’s it. Time to go home.” Then I thought, “No way, HOW can I make this happen.” On the credit card, it went.
Going through this journey it becomes a game of what are you willing to do or willing to give up to make this goal a reality. I was willing to invest in a new laptop because I knew once I landed the remote job I’d have the money to pay for it.
However, let’s say things didn’t pan out so well and that 4-weeks later I was still remote-jobless. What would have happened?
Well, I would have gone back to Canada, and temporarily got a 9-5 job to save up more money. Then, I would either pursue going remote on the side or wait until I had enough money saved to quit and try again.
Would my ego have been bruised a bit from the embarrassment of not being able to make it work at first effort? Sure.
The Discomfort will Outweigh the Reward.
But let me tell you this, being able to have the freedom to work remotely from anywhere in the world, will outweigh any “ego-shattering” moment. If anything, your tenacity and dedication towards achieving a goal will likely inspire more than it will hurt your ego.
Let’s take it a step further, let’s say I didn’t land a remote job in those 4-weeks but had also spent $2,000 on a new laptop which means $2,000 in debt. So now, my worst-case scenario is $2,000 in debt and getting a 9-5 job. Is paying off $2,000 in debt manageable and possible? Yes. It may just take a little more time to go remote than planned.
You Are Already Living Your Worst Case Scenario
Everyone has these big fears about going remote but what most people don’t realize is that they’re already living their worst-case scenario. In the example I gave above, the worst-case scenario was returning back to the 9-5 (temporarily) and yet, isn’t the 9-5 what you’re already doing? If anything your ego gets a little shattered, but the benefit to that is you get a taste of humbleness and the opportunity for personal growth. And to me, that’s a win.
Fear will prevent more people from achieving their dreams than failure ever will, because, fear stops you from getting started and failure only occurs when you give up.
If you’re already living your worst-case scenario, why not take a chance on yourself? From personal experience, I can tell you the journey isn’t always worth it but it’s SO incredibly worth it. I now get to live a lifestyle I would have only ever dreamed about before. I wasn’t born into this. I made a choice to pursue a big goal and went after it with everything I had in me. You can do the same.
So ask yourself…
What is my worst-case scenario? and can I handle that situation if it arises?
Are my fears ego-driven or legitimate fears?
Will I give up or keep learning and growing until it happens?
You’re Ready, But What’s Next?
If you’re feeling ready to take the leap but want guidance on how to make it a reality, check out the Remote Job Accelerator course or for a more personalized approached check out the 1:1 remote career coach mentoring.
Both the online course and remote career coaching are options that use a proven system for landing a remote job. This means you’ll save a ton of time and money, compared to trying to figure it out yourself. There’s no point in trying to reinvent the wheel and figure it out all on your own when you can learn from others who have already taken the journey.
You’ll also get support so you don’t have to take this journey alone. If you’re reading this you’re likely a “black sheep” of your family or community. Because of that, it can be challenging to pursue something that’s “out of the norm”, especially when so many people in your life don’t “get it”.
If you’re Not Choosing to GO Remote, you’re Choosing to NOT go Remote.
You have the invitation, now you get to decide what you do with this information. Do you get the right support to go remote so you can start working remotely from anywhere in the world or do you continue down your current path and stay in the 9-5 forever?
Nothing changes if nothing changes.
This is your opportunity for change and it’s up to you whether you take it or not.
