Hi again and welcome back to the savvy psychologist I'm Dr Ellen Hendrickson and this

week just like every other I will help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research,

a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

Okay, last week we talked about the six ways we self-sabbatage and the one reason why, fear of failure.

And while we usually think of failure as failing to reach a goal, there are, for better or worse, lots of ways to fail.

The social failure of being rejected, the romantic failure of being dumped, the career failure of being fired, no matter what kind of failure we

fear, the possibility of it looms large and makes us avoid even trying.

And this makes a lot of sense.

Who doesn't want to avoid humiliation and defeat?

But how to move forward and take that leap of faith regardless?

Well, this week, here are five tips to free you from your fears.

So let's get into it. Method number one is be specific. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Fear is worse when it's vague.

From Terminator 2 to X-Men,

Hollywood has taught us that it is hard to conquer something indistinct and shape shifting.

So it is with fears of failure, which are often so general as to be all-encompassing. Something bad might happen. What if something goes wrong?

And suddenly everything holds potential for failure.

Okay, so to fight this, define specifically what failure really means to you.

My company will go under and I'll have to file for bankruptcy.

My great American novel will get panned on Amazon.

I'll make a fool of myself in front of the class during my final presentation.

Then once your fear is sufficiently narrowed, it becomes much easier to wrap your head around it.

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