Fear of failure is one of the most common barriers holding high-achievers back.

It creeps into your thoughts, amplifies self-doubt, and prevents you from taking bold steps toward the growth you're truly capable of.

Whether it’s hesitating to speak up in a meeting, declining a career-changing opportunity, or overthinking decisions, fear of failure can create an invisible ceiling over your success. But what if I told you that failure isn’t the enemy?

Fear thrives in the unknown. Our minds are often wired to imagine the worst-case scenarios as if they're bound to happen.

That said, failure is not a reflection of your worth or potential. It’s necessary to fuel your learning, risk-taking and growth. The cost of inaction can easily become greater than the cost of failure. So which side do you want to be on?

When you change your relationship with failure, you transform it from a roadblock into a stepping stone. As we approach the new year together, remember that what you want is on the other side of fear.

Let's make sure it doesn't stand in your way. Here's how.

5 ways to overcome the fear of failure

1/ Reframe failure as feedback

Failure doesn’t define you. It informs you. Instead of seeing failure as a dead-end, consider it as valuable feedback for improvement because this way, you either win or you learn.

Here's 4 simple ways to put this into action:

→ Reframe your thoughts. For example, instead of thinking "I failed to meet the deadline," consider it as "This was an opportunity to learn how to better plan for projects like this moving forward." Ask yourself what happened? What did you learn? And what would you do differently next time to avoid this situation?

→ Practice 'what if' reframes. For example, instead of assuming something will fail with "What if it doesn't work out?", shift your view to fuel abundance with "What if it does work out?" or "What if this is better than I expected?" or "What if this serves as a stepping stone for X?". The way in which you speak to yourself holds a big weight in the actions you take (or don't take).

→ Deconstruct successful failures: Look back at past experiences where failure eventually led to a positive outcome. Break down the steps that turned it around and apply that thinking proactively to current challenges. If you did it before, the proof is there that you can do it again. Often, a quick self-reminder is all it takes to move you in the right direction.

→ Adopt experimentation language: Shift how you talk about risks or new initiatives by framing them as experiments instead. This is 1 of my personal favourites. For instance:

1. Replace "I hope this works" with "Let’s test this approach and see what we learn."

2. Replace "I can’t afford to fail" with "What insights can we gain from trying this?"

3. Instead of "I’m not good at this," think, "I’m stretching my skills to grow in this area."

When you shift your mindset, you start seeing failures as experiments, opportunities to refine your approach, and valuable learnings to grow further in your career. This was the case for one of our newest clients who previously struggled with her fear of failure. Instead of letting it stand in her way again, she decided to take action towards her goals of transitioning to a new work environment and gained immediate traction in doing so.

2/ Build confidence through small wins

Overcoming fear of failure starts with rebuilding trust in your own abilities. Small wins are the fastest way to boost confidence. You can:

→ Break your goals into bite-sized steps: Take large, intimidating tasks and divide them into smaller, more manageable pieces. Completing even a single step can create momentum. Remember, confidence comes through taking action, not the other way around. For example, if leading a major project feels overwhelming to you, start by outlining the key milestones and completing just one at a time. Remind yourself "I don’t have to finish everything today. I just need to tackle this one step."

→ Create a daily wins and gratitude list: At the end of each day, jot down 2-3 accomplishments, no matter how small. This builds a habit of focusing on progress over perfection. Perhaps this is scheduling a key meeting on the calendar with your C-level team, o resolving a team issue that's been lingering for weeks. Instead of "I barely made a dent today," now you can view it as "I made progress that’ll compound over time."

→ Celebrate incremental successes: Reward yourself when you hit a milestone, even if it’s part of a larger goal. This helps to maintain your motivation and momentum. For example, if you've finished a challenging project or report, take a short walk, journal about it or treat yourself to something you enjoy.

→ Practice confidence-building activities: Engage in tasks you’re already good at to remind yourself of your capabilities. For example, if you’re great at designing presentations, volunteer to refine your team’s next deck. This not only helps you play to your strengths but also builds trust with your team as a go-to resource. From here, you can remind yourself "I’m skilled and capable of tackling other challenges too."

→ Focus more on your gains, not just the gaps: Periodically look back at how far you’ve come in a project or your career. Compare your skills and achievements now to where you were a year ago. This often shows that even if you're not where you wanted to be yet, you're still miles ahead of where you were when you started. Small, repeated successes create forward movement, reminding you that progress is possible, even in the face of fear.

3/ Plan for mistakes

Fear of failure often stems from an aversion to making mistakes. That said, mistakes are inevitable and a natural part of risk-taking, so planning for them can reduce the emotional weight they hold over you.

Here's a few steps to put this into action:

→ Conduct pre-mortems: Before starting a project, list all the potential things that could go wrong and proactively brainstorm solutions. This proactive approach helps you anticipate and mitigate risks better. For example, "What are the 3 most likely challenges we might face with this initiative, and how can we address them upfront?". Pro tip: This is also helpful in preparing for meetings with senior leaders to anticipate their possible objections or questions ahead of time, so you can best prepare for them without being thrown off.

→ Develop contingency plans: For high-stakes tasks, create a plan B and even a plan C. Knowing you have alternatives can ease the pressure while also showcasing your solution-oriented mindset. You can also reminder yourself that even if plan A doesn't work as planned, you're prepared and ready to pivot without losing any momentum.

→ Practice playing out worst-case scenarios: Visualize how you would handle things if it did go sour. This builds confidence in your ability to recover and reduces the emotional toll of potential failures on you. For example, imagine a presentation going off-track or getting overtaken by strong opinions from others, and rehearse how you’d redirect it calmly.

Example communication template:

"I appreciate your interest on this topic as well. That said, I want to be cognizant of the time we have left and I still have a few key points to cover that are essential for getting the needed approval. As soon as I finish sharing that, we can come back to your points if I haven't already addressed them. Does that work?"

→ Normalize mistakes with your team: Share lessons learned from your own mistakes to foster a culture of growth and openness. This will help empower your team to experiment and take more chances, allowing for greater returns. My golden rule: It's ok to make mistakes, just make sure you don't make the same mistake twice. Additionally, don't discount the importance of learning from mistakes as much as from successes. Pro tip: This can be transformed into internal best practices of "what not to do" for future projects to bring more efficiencies to the broader teams.

4/ Tame self-doubt with evidence

How many times have you found yourself saying “What if I’m not good enough?”, "What if I don't have what it takes?", "What if I let [X person] down?".

The best way to overcome these doubts is to silence that voice with facts. You can:

→ Create a wins journal: Keep a dedicated notebook or folder in your inbox where you record daily achievements, no matter how small. I like to call this your "cheer folder". Reflecting on these reminds you of your capabilities when self-doubt creeps in and gives you the courage to move forward. Pro tip: This comes in handy when you want to advocate for yourself and highlight quick wins towards others with decision-making power in your company.

→ Ask for specific feedback: Hearing concrete examples of your impact can counteract negative self-perceptions. We are often our own worst critic but getting this input from others regularly keeps things in perspective. For example, you can ask "What’s 1 thing I did particularly well on this project?" or "What do you appreciate most about how I handled [X challenge]?".

→ Challenge negative thoughts as they arise: Write down specific fears or doubts, then counter them with evidence from your past successes. Instead of telling yourself "I’ll never figure this out" or "This is so hard, I don't know if I'll do it right", try an alternative viewpoint like "I’ve successfully tackled similar problems before, and I’ll do it again." Remember, do not confuse inexperience with inability. Just because you haven't done something yet, doesn't mean you can't do it and do it well.

[Check out my recent newsletter on How to get out of your comfort zone]

5/ Make decisions without perfection

The fear of making the “wrong” decision can lead to analysis paralysis, but indecision is often more costly than a wrong choice. It holds you back from taking your place in important conversations, or limits your opportunities. We can't have that.

So instead:

→ Set decision deadlines: For every decision, big or small, give yourself a time limit to make a choice. This prevents overthinking and builds decisiveness. And if you feel overwhelmed by the amount of options you have, break them down into sets of 2 and decide between them for each set until you get down to the final decision. A good decision made now is better than the perfect decision made too late.

→ Identify key priorities: Focus on the most important factors driving the decision. Let go of minor details that won’t significantly impact the outcome. Progress over perfection builds more traction than anything else because it allows you to build more, do more and try more rather than focusing on 1 thing for too long.

→ Commit to action: Once you’ve made a decision, take immediate steps to implement it. Avoid second-guessing unless new critical information arises. This helps build your level of conviction in your actions which is something appreciated by senior leadership. You don't want to come off as wishy-washy in your thinking and decisions.

→ Review past decisions: Reflect on decisions you’ve made in the past, especially those that weren’t perfect but still led to positive outcomes. Use this to remind yourself that imperfection doesn’t equal failure. The only true failure is not trying at all. For example, perhaps you'll recall a campaign you ran as a Marketing Manager that wasn’t perfect, but still increased consumer engagement by 15%.

→ Embrace the iteration process: Recognize that most decisions can be adjusted or refined later. Treat them as starting points, not final destinations. This reduces the pressure you place on yourself dramatically while demonstrating your ability to adapt and be agile. Pro tip: You can even integrate this when presenting to your executives so it provides you wiggle room should one part not go as planned.

How will you face your fear of failure?

Fear of failure may never fully disappear, but it doesn’t have to control your actions. By applying these strategies, you can redefine your relationship with failure and turn it into a catalyst for your success. The biggest risk isn’t failing, but rather staying stuck in the same place out of fear. Every step you take, no matter how small, is progress toward the career you deserve.

You've got this!