You know one of the biggest obstacles on our way to greatness? Failure, or more especially, the fear of failure.

Nobody enjoys failure. It dents our self-esteem; makes us feel inferior to those we believe never fail (they do) and gives others the chance to gloat.

Fair enough, but the only way to never fail is to stay well within our comfort zone, but nothing great ever grows there. If we refuse to step outside our comfort zone we’re defending the status quo – which is fine if we’re totally happy with it.

By the way, I’m not referring to the kind of failure caused by sloppiness or lack of preparation. That kind of failure should not be tolerated. I’m talking about doing something new; something that stretches us and moves us forward.

So, how can you conquer this very real fear?

Well, one way is to re-frame failure. See it as a necessary part of personal development like training or sitting exams. Not brilliant but you just have to do it. Or, better yet, you could celebrate your failures. Revel in them. Boast about them and what you’ve learned and what you’re going to do differently next time.

Now you’re talking.

Be the guy who says “I just crashed and burned, it was AWESOME. I learned so much. What a rush!”. Be the guy who celebrates this kind of failure. Build a “share a failure” slot into your team meetings. Make failure the path to greatness.

Conquer your fear of failure and accelerate your personal growth. You know it makes sense!