Overcoming fear of failure

ASB mission for 2017-2018 school year

Doubt is the best armor against the unimaginative.

An unimaginative person might be known to say, “That dream is unrealistic. That idea will never be possible.”

“Failure is certain,” that same unimaginative person might conclude.

However, in order for any progress to take place, someone must have the courage to doubt the accepted patterns of thinking.

At one point, the question must be asked: why not?

Why can’t a dream be made real? Why can’t an idea be made possible? Only once the question “why not?” is asked will change occur.

Unfortunately, the courage to doubt often opposes an overwhelming fear of failure. This fear lurks in every aspect of life, especially high school.

The Lind-Ritzville High School (LRHS) 2017-2018 Associated Student Body (ASB) officers acknowledge the fear of failure.

ASB vice-president Rachel Schell admitted, “For me personally, failure is a scary word. I feel devastated and almost ashamed when I fail.”

“People can see you fail, and people can judge you for your failures,” she continued. “Failure, although common, is embarrassing.”

The source of this fear is internal. ASB treasurer Megan Buriak believes, “I think fear holds students back because they start to doubt their skills in school. The fear starts small and once it grows, they start to do worse.”

The consequences of avoiding the fear of failure can be detrimental to student success: “Once the idea of ‘I can’t make it on my own’ sinks into students’ heads, everything fails and falls apart,” Buriak said.

Resistance to take risks or to leave a comfort zone follows suit. “Sometimes,” Schell explained, “when you think that you could possible fail at something, the thought of not even trying to begin with seems slightly easier.”

As a result, “some students don’t discover their full potential,” noted ASB president Camden Smith.

Acknowledging a widespread fear of failure and shared self-doubt among students is the first step for the ASB to lead LRHS towards reaching its full potential.

“I do believe the fear of failure is contagious. Once one person has it, most people around will too,” said Schell. The ASB plans to stop the epidemic.

It’s the goal of the ASB to shift the mentality of the school from “There’s no way I can do this, so why bother?” to “why can’t I do this?”

Smith believes the key will be removing the illusion that perfection is the expectation: “I think that so many people put so much pressure on students to be perfect, and their shoulders aren’t built to hold that kind of pressure.”

“As an ASB, we can just try to let them know that it’s okay not to be perfect,” he continues.

The ASB seeks to have more students achieve not by lowering the standards, but by increasing the willingness to take a risk.

“Students need to hear that perfection isn’t expected, but instead effort and taking part in opportunities is expected,” Schell stressed, adding, “We as ASB can get the students trying new things without the fear of failing, but rather with eyes wide open and with the ability to accept whatever outcome happens.”

To do so, Buriak has plans to guide students away from self-doubt. “This fear of failure can be overcome if we can provide these students with encouragement that they can succeed on their own,” she saids.

Schell has plans for the ASB to lead by example, as she explained, “We as ASB officers who are seniors can show others that you can excel at everything, but sometimes failing is what’s meant to happen.”

She concluded, “We as ASB can show the entire school at Lind-Ritzville that failure doesn’t have to be such a terrifying word.”