Do you want to achieve certain goals but often feel that your worries are holding you back? The quotes below will help you understand the problem and will motivate you to overcome your anxiety.
Table of Contents
Why are we afraid of failure? The psychology behind
1. ”A fear of failure is essentially a fear of shame” Guy Winch, 10 Signs That You Might Have Fear of Failure
2. “People who have a fear of failure are motivated to avoid failing not because they cannot manage the basic emotions of disappointment, anger, and frustration that accompany such experiences but because failing also makes them feel deep shame.” Guy Winch, 10 Signs That You Might Have Fear of Failure
3. “Shame gets to the core of our egos, our identities, our self-esteem, and our feelings of emotional well-being. The damaging nature of shame makes it urgent for those who have a fear of failure to avoid the psychological threats associated with failing by finding unconscious ways to mitigate the implications of a potential failure—for example, by buying unnecessary new clothes for a job interview instead of reading up on the company—which allows them to use the excuse, ‘I just didn’t have time to fully prepare.’” Guy Winch, 10 Signs That You Might Have Fear of Failure
4. Fear is a notification of some weakness that needs to be cleared. Aagam Shah Click To Tweet
5. “[N]o one is born with a fear of failure. It is a conditioned fear that develops from your environment and/or experiences.” Ant Jackson, Why Are We Afraid to Fail?
6. “[F]ear of failure operates like a computer virus. It can be running in the background without you noticing. You can love your life, but everything is operating on about 60–70%. When something won’t open, or it takes an eternity to reboot, you just find a workaround. You learn to live with the labored pace. Until one day, you can’t.” Ant Jackson, Why Are We Afraid to Fail?
7. “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” Bertrand Russell
8. Many times, the thought of fear itself is greater than what it is we fear. Idowu Koyenikan Click To Tweet
9. “A fear of weakness only strengthens weakness.” Criss Jami
To read more: “10 Signs That You Might Have Fear of Failure”
How to deal with failure (Motivational Quotes)
10. “Failure is success if we learn from it.” Malcolm Forbes
11. “Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success.” Denis Waitley
12. “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” Johnny Cash
13. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” Frank Herbert
14. Success isn't permanent and failure isn't fatal. Mike Ditka Click To Tweet
15. “Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” Zig Ziglar
16. “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” George Herman “Babe” Ruth
17. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” Dale Carnegie
18. “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.” Elbert Hubbard
19. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela Click To Tweet
20. “For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” Mary Kay Ash
21. “Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.” Napoleon Hill
22. “No man is a failure who is enjoying life.” William Feather
23. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” Dale Carnegie
24. “If you’re doing your best, you won’t have any time to worry about failure.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
25. “No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.” Napoleon Hill
26. “A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it.” Ambrose Bierce
27. “Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.” Virgil Thomson
28. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius Click To Tweet
29. “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” Bertrand Russell
30. “When we give ourselves permission to fail, we, at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel.” Eloise Ristad
31. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
32. “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” F. Scott Fitzgerald
33. “There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot.” Robbie Williams
34. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt Click To Tweet
35. “We are all failures- at least the best of us are.” J.M. Barrie
36. “Let the fear of failure be the background noise of your success.” Giovanni Dienstmann
37. “When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.” George Bernard Shaw
38. “I don’t have many failures, if I’m making a cake and it fails, it becomes a pudding.” Clifford Crozier, 102 years old, said this in an interview “Life Lessons from 100-year-olds”
See also: 85 Fear Of The Unknown Quotes (How To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone)
If you don’t try…
39. “The only failure is not to try.” George Clooney
40. “There is no failure except in no longer trying.” Elbert Hubbard
41. “I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try.” Nikki Giovanni
42. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” Richard Branson
43. I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. Michael Jordan Click To Tweet
44. “If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes back bone to lead the life you want” Richard Yates
45. “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Ken Robinson
46. “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” Woody Allen
47. “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” Marie Curie
48. If you are afraid to fail, your successes will be few, common, and unmemorable. Lorii Myers Click To Tweet
49. “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying. To the best you can do everyday.” Jason Mraz
50. “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.” Bill Cosby
See also: 50+ Tao of Pooh Quotes to Help You Achieve Effortlessly (Wu Wei)
Redefining failure (Positive attitude)
51. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison
52. “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
53. “Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.” Robert H. Schuller
54. “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” C. S. Lewis
55. Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life. J.K. Rowling Click To Tweet
56. “Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.” Morihei Ueshiba
57. “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” George Edward Woodberry
58. “Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” Zig Ziglar
59. Failure doesn't mean you are a failure it just means you haven't succeeded yet. Robert H. Schuller Click To Tweet
60. “Experience teaches slowly, and at the cost of mistakes.” James A. Froude
61. “Don’t be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an opportunity somebody wishes they had missed.” Lily Tomlin
62. “Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.” Mia Hamm
63. The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. Henry Ford Click To Tweet
64. “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” Henry Ford
65. “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” Batman Begins
66. “I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion.” Yohji Yamamoto
67. A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul. Jillian Michaels Click To Tweet
68. “We learn wisdom from failure much more than success. We often discover what we will do, by finding out what we will not do.” Samuel Smiles
69. “Don’t fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” Bruce Lee
70. “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Bill Cosby
71. Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce Click To Tweet
See also: “Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.” Josh Billings
Famous sayings about overcoming the fear of failure
72. “My grandmother once told me, ‘Don`t let failure go to your heart and don`t let success go to your head.’” Will Smith
73. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan
74. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt
75. “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” Benjamin Franklin
76. There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. Oprah Click To Tweet
77. “I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” Tony Robbins
78. “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” Paulo Coelho
79. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” J. K. Rowling
80. My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. Abraham Lincoln Click To Tweet
81. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.” Steve Jobs
82. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” Maya Angelou
83. What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Vincent van Gogh Click To Tweet
84. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
85. “One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.” Henry Ford
86. “We can’t be brave in the big world without at least one small safe space to work through our fears and falls.” Brene Brown
87. “Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything.” Marilyn Monroe
88. He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.” Napoleon Bonaparte Click To Tweet
89. “My fear is my only courage.” Bob Marley (More Bob Marley Quotes)
See also: Byron Katie’s Quotes On Love And Marriage (How It Takes Only One To End Suffering)
Dare to take risks in life
90. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Eleanor Roosevelt
91. “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” Coco Chanel
92. “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie
93 “Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” Unknown
94. He knows the water best who has waded through it. Danish Proverb Click To Tweet
95. “Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.” Unknown
96. “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Robert F. Kennedy
97. “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” Ellen DeGeneres
98. The phoenix must burn to emerge. Janet Fitch Click To Tweet
99. “Fear of failure killed more dreams than anything else. Don’t allow fear to have the victory. Start dreaming today and put feet to that which you carry in your heart.” Mandi Hart
100. “Those who are afraid to fail may not deserve to succeed.” Nido R. Qubein
101. “Those who live in fear of failure slowly but inevitably fail.” Clifford Thurlow, Operation Jihadi Bride: My Covert Mission to Rescue Young Women from ISIS – The Incredible True Story
102. “If something is important enough, you should try even if the probable outcome is failure.” Elon Musk
103. Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Jack Canfield Click To Tweet
104. “Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” Unknown
105. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” Og Mandino
