Overcoming the Fear of Failure

By Victoria Orlando, Logistics Coordinator

People say that you become what you think about most. When I first stepped into university, instead of embracing the opportunities, I found myself fixating on every possible way I might fail. What if I said the wrong thing in class? What if I didn’t land the internship? What if I wasn’t chosen for the club? These questions echoed in my mind, paralyzing me before I could even take the first step, because all I could see were the possible negative outcomes down the road.

As I watched opportunities pass by, I kept wondering what could have happened if I had shown more courage. That is when I realized that failure wasn’t holding me back, my fear of failure was.

At the time, my mentality was both my largest obstacle and my greatest solution. I began to reframe my thinking and remind myself that my desire for growth had to outweigh my fear of rejection. Because failure is not the end result; it is an inevitable part of our journeys. With every challenge we are forced to adapt, to learn, to improve, and to become one step closer to achieving our goals.

In university, it is so easy to fall into the comparison trap, as we usually only see the highlight reel of others' lives, not the struggles behind the scenes. But the truth is, we aren’t alone. Even the most successful people fail, CEO’s, professors, even Albert Einstein faced challenges. What separates those who succeed is not avoiding failure but building the resilience and mindset to respond to it and keep moving forward.

Although mentality is the largest contributor to overcoming the fear of failure, it is equally important to have a strong support system of friends, family, and community to help us persevere through hard times. Their encouragement often reminds us of our strength when we forget it ourselves.

This is not me saying that I no longer feel fear. Everyone does. But it is a universal reminder that we deserve every opportunity this world has to offer, and that begins with accepting failure. If we weren’t ready, we wouldn’t have the opportunity, and if we weren’t capable, we wouldn’t have the desire. So, raise your hand in class, step out of your comfort zone, meet new people, apply for that internship or club, because failure does not define us and is not final. The only true failure is never daring to try.