Ask Christa! Fear of Making Mistakes as a Source of POWER!

Hi everyone, and welcome to Ask Christa! the place where you can ask questions about how to work through business challenges and workplace issues. I'm Christa Dhimo and today's question is, how can we deal with the fear of making mistakes when stepping out of our comfort zones, such as being in an important first job position? 

What a great question that is, fear. We all experience that, sometimes many times in a day. And you may not think about it this way, but fear is a really personal emotion. The root is vulnerability, feeling open to harm. I often ask people to value the perspective of fear instead of being fearful of it. After all, it's a big word with a lot of little words within it. And it really has no meaning until it's attached to another emotion or action, both of which likely haven't happened yet.

And we give a lot of power to a word that has no meaning or reality without other things. But it's also really easy to say all of that. I live by this notion to value fear, but that doesn't always work for me either. I get afraid of things too, doubtful, anxious. 

So here are a couple of tips. 

The first one is the same one nearly everyone talks about when they talk about fear. And that is looking at what we're putting that fear into so we can address it. Practically speaking, the fear you're describing this situation, the fear of stepping out of a comfort zone and trying something new, being in a new job, for example, that's usually related to a fear of how you'll be perceived. And in the workplace, it's easy to feel that people's perception of you rule the day. But that doesn't mean you can't influence that perception. 

And that leads me to the second tip. You might be thinking, I'm afraid that if I make mistakes, it'll hurt my credibility and no one will respect me. Or I'm afraid that if I make a mistake, I'll feel embarrassed and realize I stepped out of my comfort zone too soon. Or I'm afraid that if I make a mistake, I'll let those down who believed in me, who supported this change. Or how about this one? I'm afraid that if I make a mistake, those who told me I couldn't do this would be right. 

We all have the ability to influence how others perceive us though. And we have that ability to get in front of the what if by putting our fears out there right away. You'd be surprised how quickly you can deflate your fear when you do that. And it can sound something like this. "Hi everyone, I'm so happy to be here and really excited in this new position. And I'm new and eager to learn as much as I can and get on board quickly. And I'm going to need your help with that. So it's important that you know, I'm excited to be here, but I'm also going to make some mistakes. And I appreciate your support and help along the way. I will learn from my mistakes and it will make me a better team member, manager or leader after I'm settled in." You can even say something like this. "I'm only going to make the mistake once. If it's twice, it's an unusual event, but I guarantee I will learn from it and there won't be a third time."

Now, most of us are not working in operating rooms where brain surgery is taking place or in some secret mission or in the International Space Station, you know, where mistakes can be fatal. The hardest part of our jobs is working with other humans, super hard sometimes. But since we're human too, we can bet that we have at least 50 % influence on how things will go based on how we frame things in our mind and how we choose to be brave. And when it comes to our leadership brand and what we stand for as leaders and managers, we can and should use our fear of making mistakes as a source of power. And I'm focused on leaders and managers because this particular question talked about being in a new role that's a higher level role, but this really applies to everybody. Using our fear of making mistakes as a source of power.

And it can also be used as a way to lead by example where the expectation is you learn from mistakes and you get better. This is also how you can avoid situations where people try to cover up mistakes once they occur. And this is especially important if you're working in a highly regulated complex environment where in fact mistakes can be fatal. So that's my answer. Reframe your fear and place what you learn from mistakes underneath you to lift you up and help you step upward and forward. 

For this segment, I have two resources for you. One is the science of manifestation and the power of positive thinking, and it's on mentalhealth.com. I have the link in the show notes. Whether you believe in manifesting or not, there is a science behind it, and I think it's an important thing for you to study because part of what we tend to latch onto when it comes to being fearful are the small nuances we might or the small things we might not always pick up on or we pick up on them but we're not always aware of it or we are aware of it and we don't know what to do with it. Whatever the mix may be, we always run the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, meaning we run the risk of creating a fear that then becomes a reality. So that's why I'm providing this to you about manifestation. 

The other resource I have for you is how to overcome fear of failure. It's called how to overcome your fear of failure, your ultimate guide. And you'll read about solid tips to shift how you're thinking about fear and it's on positivepsychology.com. And again, I'll have the link in the show notes. 

Remember to keep your mind open, be curious about what you learn and recognize that in workplace situations, you're never alone. There are always things that you can do for yourself, people you can connect with and learnings that are available. So there it is.

As always, keep asking the questions. I'm here to support you and lift you up. We have a wonderful community, a supportive community, and I appreciate your support. Send in your questions in the comments or the podcast website, askchrista.com That's Christa with a C-H. And while you're there, join our mailing list to receive a weekly newsletter that offers additional quick tips and resources. Again, I appreciate everyone's support. And if you have a question about business challenges and workplace issues, ask Christa!

Additional Resources:

 Michael, E. (2024, September 26). The Science of Manifestation: The Power of Positive Thinking - MentalHealth.com. MentalHealth.com. https://www.mentalhealth.com/tools/science-of-manifestation

Schaffner, A. K., PhD. (2024, December 17). How to Overcome fear of Failure: Your Ultimate guide. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/fear-of-failure/