We all have some fear and, curiously, the fear of making a mistake is one of the most repeated. However, making mistakes is inherent to the human condition. That is, all people make mistakes at some point in our lives.
In this article We will review some ideas that help us contextualize and better understand the main characteristics of the fear of making mistakes. In addition, we will talk about the impact that this can have on our lives and, simply, we will focus on addressing the management of the fear of making mistakes using some tools.
Errors can be of different types, have different interpretations and, of course, lead to different consequences. The impact may be more or less serious for us or our environment. Without a doubt, making mistakes can have consequences in different areas of our lives (relational, work, academic, etc.).
But… Is it really the fear of making mistakes that we feel? Usually, what causes us emotional and psychological discomfort is what follows the supposed failure. That is, our mind usually anticipates the consequences that could arise from our mistakes and those thoughts are what activate emotional responses in our body.
In this sense, interfering factors often appear that create, accentuate or perpetuate the fear of failure. Among these, we can highlight some such as perfectionism, self-demand and fear of receiving judgment from other people.
All emotions provide us with information and, therefore, they are all valid. However, it is true that, sometimes, we can feel that these emotions overwhelm and overwhelm us. In these cases, we consider that its adaptive function (which mobilizes us to action) has become maladaptive and is not functional.
When this happens with fear, especially the fear of making mistakes, We can experience what is known as paralysis by analysis, For example. In this case, people tend to procrastinate and not perform certain actions or make certain decisions due to the intensity of the fear they feel.
Although it is not the only consequence that we can suffer, when this happens the emotional and psychological impact can be really serious. The discomfort usually intensifies as people think about all the opportunities they have lost due to fear and inaction and this, over time, ends up having a considerable impact on their self-esteem.
Thus, we can imagine that this type of situation can generate other problems, such as, for example, anxiety or other added emotional problems. This can even cause illness or physical difficulties and, without a doubt, can have repercussions on work or academic performance and interfere with relationships.
How to manage the fear of making mistakes: strategies
Before explaining some of the tools that can be really useful to manage the fear of making mistakes, we want to insist on the fact that each person is different and may need different strategies. It is interesting that each person can explore different strategies to stick with the ones that are most useful to them.
We must keep in mind that The acquisition of tools is a process and, therefore, changes will occur and be integrated gradually. If the discomfort is very intense or the tools set out below are not sufficient, we recommend seeking professional help.
Self-knowledge and self-reflection
As we said previously, each individual is unique. Therefore, it is crucial that we invest resources in getting to know ourselves in order to understand what are the causes that are leading us to feel such intense fear at the idea of making mistakes. In this way, we can reflect on our needs, the tools we already have and the impact that this situation generates on our lives.
Restructure thoughts
An important point to keep in mind is the story we are telling ourselves about the supposed mistake we have made. It is essential that we stop for a few moments to review how we are interpreting our mistakes and what we think they say about us. It is very helpful to start considering that failures are an opportunity to learn and continue developing as people.
Cultivate self-compassion
Our mistakes can cause pain, suffering and discomfort, either to ourselves or to our environment. And although it is true that we cannot change the things that have happened, we can try to accompany ourselves with compassion. This allows us to learn from what we have experienced and take the necessary actions to repair the damage to the extent possible.
Accept imperfection
An elementary aspect to be able to manage the fear of making mistakes is assume that, at some point in our lives, we are going to make mistakes. Imperfection is part of life and our human condition. In other words, no matter how hard we try, there are factors that are beyond our control.
It is interesting that we reflect on how we are setting our goals and our expectations about our performance. The less they adjust and come closer to reality, the more difficult it is to achieve them and the more perception of having failed we will have. In this sense, it is also interesting that we can reflect as objectively as possible on the real impact of our mistakes.
Practice mindfulness and/or relaxation techniques
Finally, Another tool that we consider really useful in this sense is the practice of mindfulness. All strategies that help us connect again with the present moment help us manage intrusive, anticipatory and catastrophic thoughts. In addition, they help with physiological responses and the intensity of emotions. Relaxation techniques can also be highly useful in this regard.
