Tag Archive for fear of failure

Finding Success Helps You Build Confidence

September 25, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

banner for rsuccess

 

You’re expecting great success in whatever you’re doing. But, when it comes to confidence that’s something else again.

Today we look at a GenuLines yardstick to help you measure up.

Finding Success Helps You Build Confidence
We’ve all experienced a time in our lives when our self-esteem was on the skids. The common thread in these experiences is a lack of confidence.

Think about a job you didn’t like. I’m guessing it wasn’t about your lack of knowledge.

A more likely reason is that you didn’t have the confidence in your ability to do the given tasks.

handshake of success

A strong sense of self and self esteem is essential to overcoming adversity. Success in this area builds your self-confidence.

Success Strengthens Your Self-Love
When you reach a goal, you’re proud of your accomplishment. You know your story and you’ve experienced the challenges firsthand.

You’re better able to endure. And this strength fuels your confidence that you’ll do what you intended to do.

Success Makes You Self-Reliant
Let’s use the life versus lemons example. You take lemons and create, say, a profitable lemonade stand.

You understand that you have power and the capability to overcome most anything.

Success Means Taking Risks
Success forces you venture out of your comfort zone. You act on opportunities that you may have passed on before.

Walking into new ventures despite the fears and the unknown requires absolute confidence. You have no idea if you’ll sink or swim.

Yet, taking that first step into the ocean is a brave move.

Failure
Many people shy away from taking on new tasks because they’re afraid of failure. They believe they’re unable to overcome a challenge.

Get into the mindset that no challenge is too difficult to overcome. Over time, this mentality will lead to ultimate self-confidence and power.

The journey of finding success in itself requires confidence. Sure, it’s easy to take what’s given to you, but is that building your inner strength?

Successful people fight for what they have and go out and get what they want. Through your efforts, wins and accomplishments, you develop a heightened sense of awareness.

This will enable you to continue reaching ever higher levels of success.

John K. 9-25/2023
chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about successOverheard: “Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out”

~ Robert Collier
 

disclaimer for success

The Importance of Resilience: The Survival Skill

August 14, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

banner on resilience

A big part of any survival plan is resilience. It’s crucial to endure a situation until you can get the upper hand.

Let GenuLines help you in the process as we look at this quality called resilience.

The Importance of Resilience: The Survival Skill

Failure is always an option. In fact, failure is inevitable,

Every successful person has had their fair share of failure. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, only that you get back up again.

The ability to recover after failing a task is resilience.

runners show resilience

Why is resilience important? Well, there are several reasons:

● Protection from overwhelming experience
Without resilience, every obstacle that you face can be daunting. Developing mechanisms for handling these difficult experiences makes them a little less scary.

● Handling stress
Stress isn’t all bad. It pushes us to act and make decisions in life.

Instead of stress being something to hold you back, you can use it to draw motivation and push you forward.

● Mental wellbeing
If you’re resilient you won’t let failure get you down. Repeated failure at a task can be draining.

Resilience gives you the mental toughness needed to maintain a strong psychological balance.

● Realistic mindset
Without resilience, we tend to have a different world view. One that doesn’t seem so intimidating.

Resilience can help you see the world for how it is. An often unnerving, threatening, and even terrifying place.

But it’s okay for the world to be a scary place. As long as you have the psychological capacity to handle it. you don’t have to bend reality to feel more comfortable.

● Make the best of a bad situation
Failure is not the end; it’s an opportunity. Failure teaches us to learn from our mistakes. We can use that knowledge to move forward more in a more efficient way.

If we don’t learn from our mistakes we can never improve and do better the next time.

● Improve the way you value yourself
Being able to bounce back from a bad situation can help improve your self-worth. You won’t see yourself as someone ill equipped to handle bad situations.

Resilience can make you feel strong powerful and worthy.

Relying on yourself isn’t always easy. But to do it time and time again proves that you don’t always need someone else to do something for you.

In turn, you’ll see yourself as someone who can succeed regardless of the challenge.

Remember, resilience is a skill that you can cultivate and grow with training.

Next time you find it difficult to pull yourself up from failure, do it anyway.

See how being resilient can change your entire mindset.

JohnK 8-14-2023
chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about resilienceOverheard: It’s not the strongest of a species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most resilient and responsive to change”

~Charles Darwin
 

 

disclaimer for resilience

Why Do We Avoid Certain Tasks?

July 24, 2023 John Uncategorized 2 comments

You can avoid some tasks but they don’t go away. It’s like a child covering it’s eyes and thinking that will make something go away.

With that in mind GenuLines opens your eyes so you can get things done.

Why Do We Avoid Certain Tasks?

Do you find yourself dreading a particular task in your life every time you must complete it? Do you often wonder why you avoid it?
There are several reasons we avoid completing specific tasks. And the reason why this is can vary from individual to individual.
list of tasks

You Don’t Think You’ll Have Fun

You may not believe you’ll have fun completing it when you think about that task. Or it could be you’ve performed the task before and didn’t have fun.
Humans generally want to avoid doing things that lead to unhappiness. This is especially true when they are especially difficult or complex.

Fatigue

When you’re tired, you will generally avoid certain tasks. Even if they are tasks, you usually have fun doing.
This is because you’re tired and need to get some rest.
If you avoid a task because you feel exhausted, then it’s time to get some rest and try to approach it again later. It’s tough to focus when you’re fatigued.
And that could lead you to become distracted as an avoidance tactic for certain tasks.

You Don’t Think You’ll Do Well

Fear of failure can leave you feeling afraid of embarrassment or looking bad. This fear is quite common and one of the easier ones to overcome.
Usually you can remedy it working on self-confidence and self-acceptance.

Medical Conditions

When everything else fails there may be a medical problem behind your procrastination. If so, get treatment and you see an uptick in your motivation.
The reasons on this list may be separate, but they all boil down to a lack of motivation. If so, you need to own up to it.
Once you realize this, you can find the cause to motivate yourself in the future better.
JohnK 7-25-2023
stick man hears about tasksOverheard: “There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.
                                     ~David Lloyd George
disclaimer for tasks

Fear Setting – How to Remove Your Fear of Failure

July 17, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

Your fear of failure could be holding you back. So what should you do?

Today GenuLines offers some ideas that turn the tables on fear and make it serve you.

Fear Setting – How to Remove Your Fear of Failure

Many of us have an innate fear of failure. We say that if we let things go wrong, we won’t have the means to carry on.

But real success actually requires failure.

And that’s why the world’s most successful people are actually not at all afraid of failing. They’re quite happy to put themselves out on a limb taking regular risks.

 

So how do you remove a fear of failure?

What is Fear Setting?

One option is to try fear setting. This is a technique that was first popularized by Tim Ferris in his book The Four Hour Workweek.

The general idea is to ‘set’ your fears in the same way that you would ‘set’ your goals.

This way you turn those abstract and vague fears into things that are more concrete and real. To do this, make a list of those fears and contingencies.

Planning on trying something new? Then write down everything that could go wrong and why you’re afraid of it.

Next, write down all the ways you might deal with those things going wrong. And write down how likely each of those things is to go wrong in the first place.

On the face of it, that might sound like it would make matters worse but in fact the opposite is true. That’s because, writing down your fears and making them ‘real’ often robs them of their power.

More so when you have a plan in place for how you would deal with them. And you realize that they’re actually quite unlikely to be a problem in the first place.

An Example

If you were thinking of finding a new job you might have the following fears:

You will:

*lose your current job and end up with no money
*not enjoy your new job
*end up leaving your family without a steady income

But how likely are each of these things and how could you make them less of a problem? For instance, could you not survive on savings for a little while?

Would you not be able to get help from parents if it came down to it? Couldn’t you look for work without leaving your current job?

And isn’t it quite likely that you’d actually be able to get work back with your old employer if things went wrong?

The fears tend to be somewhat unfounded. Fear setting allows us to see that and as a result makes things a lot less scary.

JohnK 7-17-2023
chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about fearOverheard: “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them”

~Andre Gide

 

 

disclaimer for fear

The Art of Failing Fast

March 27, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

If failing is scary, why would you want to do it quickly? Seems counterintuitive, no? 

There is method to this seeming madness, and GenuLines brings the usual sanity to explain in more detail. 

The Art of Failing Fast

If you want to achieve a lot in life, sometimes the secret is to stop trying so hard and to put out lower quality work. Wait… what?
 
That’s not what they told you at school right?
 
And it likely goes against pretty much everything you learned when growing up. But in fact it’s very often the case when it comes to being successful so let’s take a look at why.

What it Means to Fail Fast

What I’m talking about here is ‘failing fast’. In business, this means creating your ‘minimal viable product’ or your ‘MVP’.
 
graph shows failing
 
 
Then you release it as soon as you can.
 
For example, a company will create a product that is sub-par in many ways and that could be better. and then they’ll release ten more. During the same period another company doesn’t take the fail fast approach.
 
This one might only release a single product. though it’s much better quality.

Letting go

Why is it better in some cases to release things that you don’t think are the best they could be? Well it comes down to the fact that these ‘minimal viable products’ need a smaller investment.
 
And they allow you to get something out the door faster.
 
That means that you can beat the competition to market. And it means that you don’t lose out on such a big investment as you otherwise might do.
 
What’s more, it means you can do a quick release of something else again next week as well.
 
As a result you’ll be able to test the market and get an idea for whether people want to buy your product or don’t. If you get lots of interest and lots of sales then you know that it’s worth your while to invest even more time and effort.
 
If you don’t get any interest?
 
You move on, having taking the minimal financial hit. Meanwhile, your competition invested big to create one fantastic product.
 
But they risk that product failing and costing them huge amounts. And that could end the business.

Applying it to Life

The ‘fail fast’ technique can also apply to other areas of your life. This means releasing a ‘beta’ version to the public, and you can do this in all kinds of situations.
 
For instance, you’re in a social setting and you want to get an attractive person’s attention. Instead of spending all night staring at one person, try smiling at as many people as possible.
 
Some of them will look the other way, but when someone finally smiles back you can go over and invest the time.
 
See what other areas of your life you can work this idea into!
 
JohnK 3-27-2023
 
Stick figure hears about failingOverheard: “If you fail, never give up because FAIL means- First Attempt In Learning”
                   ~APJ Abdul Kalam
 
 
 
 
 
disclaimer for failing
 
 

Failure Is Your Friend

December 12, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

The idea of failure can send a shiver up your spine. But it’s time to give it a second look.

This GenuLines look at failure flips the script in your favor. . 

Failure Is Your Friend

There’s no shortage of content about success. A quick search about any business-related subject will show you a slew of stuff.
 
Search Amazon using the word “success”. What are your search results going to be?
 
Hundreds and hundreds of books whose subject revolves around being successful at something.
 
man feeling failure
 
 
Now, this is not actually a bad thing. Everyone wants to be successful at whatever it is they’re doing.
 
This is especially true in a business environment.

Good Business

In business, success means a satisfied and happy customer base. It means demand for your product or service exceeds supply.
 
It means having a lean and flexible organization. Most of all, it means a comfortable profit margin.
 
The thing is, success isn’t all about success. Let me put that another way.
 
When all you do is concentrate on the positive end results of being successful, you miss the point. You see, it’s ironic, but real success isn’t about succeeding.
 
Instead, it’s about failure.

Hush Hush

No one wants to talk about failure. People tend to avoid both the word and the concept.
 
Listen to talk about failure and you find it’s treated as a moral lesson. The person who failed becomes an example of how not to do things.
 
Could some internal personal flaw have caused the failure? This kind of thinking can be damaging.
 
It perpetuates the myth of winners who succeed with almost no effort. That their win was due to some sort of superior moral compass.
 
The truth is that you must fail to succeed.
 
Oscar Wilde said that experience is the name that we give our mistakes. Nothing could be truer.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Failing teaches you the lessons that you need to learn on your way to your goals. The most successful people understand this.
 
They have internalized the lessons of their own failures. They have used these lessons to get where they are today.
 
Real success isn’t a game. It’s not a reality show.
 
It doesn’t fall upon the shoulders of the chosen few.
 
Real success comes from failing, often more than once. It’s in these moments of failure that you learn how to avoid future mistakes.
 
And in time reach your goals.
 
JohnK 12-12-2022
 
stick figure hears about failureOverheard: “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
                             ~John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 

 

disclaimer for faolure

 

 

 

What Are You Doing with Your Life? Tips for Figuring It Out 

October 3, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

Yo want to make good life choices. But you can’t figure out where to start. 

Get some ideas today from GenuLines and then get going and start mapping it out. 

What Are You Doing with Your Life? Tips for Figuring It Out 

Do you often find yourself wondering what to do with your life? Many people reach a point where they feel they lack direction.
 
Instead of living life to the fullest, they only go through the motions.
 
sign says live life
 
If this sounds like you, there are things you can do to help you get out of the rut. Below, you’ll find some fabulous tips for figuring out what it is you want from life.
 
Consider Your Passions
If you want to know what direction to go in, it’s helpful to think about the things you’re passionate about. The things that motivate and inspire you will change from time to time.
 
For example, what you want today may look very different from what you wanted a few months ago. We change and adapt over time according to our experiences.
 
This means to keep a direction in life, we need to assess what it is we want. Figuring out the things you’re passionate about will help you to understand where to go next.
 
And what you need to do to get there.
 

Address Your Fears

Even if you know what it is you want to do, you might be stuck because of fear. It’s one of our most powerful emotions.
 
Fear can stop you from going after the things you want in life.
 
So, if you’re going to move forward and figure out what it is you must do in life, you’re going to need to address your fears. Figure out where the fear is coming from.
 
Then, be willing to work it them so you can stop it controlling your life.
 

Assess Your Current Goals

Do you have any goals you’re working toward right now? Chances are, if you aren’t sure what you’re doing in your life, you won’t have any goals to work towards.
 
This can exacerbate the problem.
 
You need to set goals to keep you motivated and positive. When you have something to work toward it gives you a purpose each day.
 
You generate more motivation to get you to where you need to be. Make sure you set small, specific goals that are easy to achieve.
 

You Don’t Need To Have It All Figured Out

Nobody has everything in life figured out. There will always be doubts and things you want to do better.
 
In fact, at times going with the flow can present you with a lot of opportunities you would otherwise miss.
 
Feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing in life can be lonely and frustrating. Let the above points help you figure out exactly what you want.
 
JohnK 10-3-2022
 
 
stick figure hears about lifeOverheard: “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”
                                   ~John Lennon
 
 
 

 

disclaimer for life

Why We Don’t Like to Take Chances

May 2, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

You want to take more chances in your life, but you keep holding back. GenuLines reminds you that this is learned. 

And today we’ll help you re-write that lesson

Why We Don’t Like to Take Chances

We’re taught from a very early stage by our parents to be careful.
We’re told to lookman takes a chance both ways before crossing the street and not to eat what is unfamiliar.
 
Parents want their kids to live long healthy lives. So they teach them to be cautious about most everything.
 
It was the same for their parents and so on down the line.
 
What’s It All About?
It’s all about self-preservation and keeping the family going generation after generation. But there are other reasons that we don’t like to take chances.
 
Societies have rules that its citizens must follow. Failure to do this can lead to jail time.
 
Even if what we do is legal our need to follow rules can take over. This tends to add to our cautious state of being.
 
Crowd Control
We hesitate to take chances because these rules are such a part of our lives. We also tend to follow the crowd and there are studies to back this up.
 
This is a herd mentality.
 
Say you’re on a busy city street and you look up in the sky for a long period of time. You’ll find more and more people gathering around to see exactly what you’re looking at.
 
There may be nothing of importance up there. But folks want to know what the attraction is.
 
So It Is With Taking Chances
If no one else has done it before we’re not likely to take the plunge. As mentioned earlier, we want to see others experience something.
 
Then we’ll decide whether to go for it ourselves.
 
This is why we look to product reviews and forums before making purchases online. We want to know that others used products or services without problems.
 
Go Around The Block
These reasons that we don’t like to take chances are mental blocks. They put up a proverbial stop sign anytime we encounter something that doesn’t sit well with us.
 
This leads us to create excuses not to do something. The biggest problem is that these barriers took a lifetime to build up so breaking them down is never easy.
 
We first have to have the belief that we can break them down before we allow ourselves to do so.
 
JohnK 5-2-2022
 
stick man hears about taking chancesOverheard: “May you always have courage to take a chance”
                                       ~Irish Saying
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
disclaimer for taking chances