Self-esteem is defined in terms of how we evaluate ourselves and our characteristics, the "personal judgment of worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes individuals hold toward themselves," in the words of self-esteem pioneer Stanley Coopersmith. A fear of failure can result in procrastination and inaction which equates into how successful one can be personally and professionally.



Dr. (Col) Rajinder Singh, a Chandigarh-based psychiatrist, says most of our fears are unfounded, have no basis and are not reality-oriented. When attending an interview, changing a job, traveling alone or making cold calls to prospects become much-feared tasks because we perceive them to be so in our minds. It just stands to reason that most of our fears are being self-generated.

Fear of incapability or failure is the strongest of fears that plague us. These fears keep us from improving our lives, accomplishing our dreams and rising above mediocrity. It stops us from experimenting, taking risks, making choices, setting deadlines, changing for the better, exploring new avenues and even making new friends. This lack of confidence can restrain us from undertaking rewarding and profitable network marketing activities.

Fear of failure and leaving one's comfort zone compliment because both lead to inaction or being stuck at a certain place. The anxiety occurs because the person is aware of the necessary behavior to obtain a favorable outcome but due to their anxiety a successful out usually escapes them.

After getting to a point of facing your fears, what happens if you succeed? Is this reinforcement of subconscious negative self doubt or is it reality after all? For the person fearing success, in their mind, the wise thing to do is to avoid having to deal with the expectation of failure and the anxiety that comes with it.

How does one combat fear? We need to change our self talk and replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. A person can go so far as to even change the frequency they are around negative people. Replace them with positive friends and family members. These people just feed your self doubt and fear.

Focus on success, positive self talk and taking action. Make positive outcomes a goal and keep a written record of your accomplishments. Some other ways to combat fear are:

Acknowledge it: you can't change what you don't acknowledge. It's tough to realize your fear of failure especially when you're involved in network marketing activities that are designed to lead to your success. That alone can be stressful, but it can be done and it is the first step to working out your fears.

Face Your Fear: Come up with solutions to your worse fears. Ask yourself what will be your course of action when faced with your fear in certain type of situations. Have some idea on how to handle the situation and for yourself to be relaxed while doing so. Begin to look at these scenarios as a training exercise for yourself. Grade yourself and be honest about your actions and behavior.

Question your fear: Question the validity of your fears. There is a saying about the word FEAR: false evidence appearing real. I think fears are like perceptions, they become one's reality. The evidence the person believes is false, it's not real but their imagination or perception of what is going on is real to them. Basically, self sabotage.

We invent our fears and we sometimes think others share our same beliefs and attitudes regarding who we are as a person. This is not true, but can be very difficult to dispute if you're the person experiencing the anxiety associated with fear. I'm not sure questioning your fears will make them less real, but consistent positive self talk and making a conscious effort to exceed the limitations can help in diffusing fear.

Challenge your fear. This takes courage and the willingness to experience some awkwardness at times as you practice on positive behaviors that will assist you in overcoming your fears. Remember, you have control over your fear and the outcome you wish to accomplish.

Practice courage: Exercise your courage. Acknowledge your fear and understand most people would feel the same, but this time work through your fear and take action. Afterwards bask in the knowledge that you conquered you fear without any painful repercussions. You continue to do this and you will begin to build confidence in the areas where your fear shows up the most.

Leave your comfort zone: Slowly begin to move out of your comfort zone in a manner that is not stressful to you. Sometimes you have to do things on your own time frame. You will realize with practice, courage and new found positive self talk that your comfort zone will expand to include other accomplishments which you may have considered otherwise impossible to achieve.