Fear of failure is something we all struggle with at one time or another. It isn’t always easy to get the what ifs about an assignment, presentation or project for work out of our minds before we turn anything in. It isn’t easy to turn off the feeling of ‘oh man do I know this material well enough to pass this test’ in either work or school either.

Fear of failure is a very real thing. The technical term for it is: “atychiphobia”. It is when we allow that fear to stop us from doing the things that can move us forward to achieve our goals.
I’ve personally struggled with this fear all of my life, but didn’t really realize it until I went into my first year of college. I constantly thought to myself, “Will I be able to do what I need to do in order to pass these classes? How will I manage homework tests and quizzes and get to spend time with my family? Will I pass the math tests I need to pass? Will I get the grades I need in classes to graduate? How will I ever overcome my fear of public speaking? What do you mean I have to go out and interview people? How the heck am I supposed to complete this assignment with no guidance?” The list of fears I had goes on and on for me.

We learn over time that fear holds us back from our potential. We have to let ourselves have a break, even when we don’t think we need it. We have to take the pressure off of our shoulders to get everything done correctly, every single time. Otherwise it will wear us down.  We don’t have to have pressure on ourselves to the point where it gets to be too much to handle. We have to have patience within ourselves and allow ourselves to take a step back when we need to.
One of my professors even called me obsessive compulsive, because I cared so much about doing the assignments right the first time. That hurt when the professor called me obsessive compulsive, especially since I didn’t even consider myself to be that way. I just knew I cared a great deal about doing things right the first time so I wouldn’t have to redo them later on.  If you’ve been to college, you know the stress that is on you from the moment you walk on to campus from the moment you graduate.
Fear can hold any of us back if were not careful. The important thing to remember is that we can overcome the fear of failure and any other fear we may have.

Some Bible verses that can help us overcome fear are:
John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” God gives us His peace ibn order for us to have a calmer experience in life, even through all of our fears. It literally tells us we don’t have to be afraid.
Another example of the fear of failure that I faced in college was, the fear of failure of not getting the assignments done on time. I would literally see the assignment due a few weeks to a month or more ahead of time, and because of the constant pressure I unfortunately put on myself, I questioned how I was ever going to accomplish the assignment even though it was due a month from now. A verse that has always brought me comfort is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” My family had that verse ready for me whenever they knew I was overwhelmed. It has helped me through so many hard times of uncertainty and doubting myself.
Another verse that has always helped is Mathew 6:34 “34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It can teach a lot of us that worrying literally doesn’t do us any good. For me it taught me to take everything in stride one day at a time and to not the pressure on myself during college, and even now as a graduate.
The fear of failure can literally make you sick. There were days where I would have given anything to just lay in bed and not bother to do any of my assignments because of the fear that was weighing me down.

It got to the point of putting so much pressure on myself to do the assignments right in my classes, that I was afraid of even doing a single thing wrong. I was afraid to start the assignments though too, because there were a lot of them that I wasn’t sure where to begin. I let the fear of failure control what I did and what I didn’t do and in some cases I really found out the hard way, how difficult it is to overcome the fear. But, God helped me persevere and overcome through every obstacle.
Fear of failure can make you afraid to try anything new, because you don’t know how it will turn out. You may think, ‘what if it goes wrong? What if it doesn’t turn out right? What if I fall?’

But the most important thing is, what if you fly? What if the thing you’re afraid of, is the thing that will take you to the peak of your career or your promotion, or to the best feeling you have ever experienced in your life? You don’t want to miss out on what could be the greatest opportunity of your life just because you are afraid do you?
Take the leap of faith into the things you fear. Conquer them with the knowledge that God is with you at all times. You never know what glorious things God has waiting for you on the other side.  You are never a failure in God’s eyes.  He can and will help you see the good in yourself, and help you reach your full potential.