Five Popular Career Fears and How to Face Them

We all face career fears. It doesn’t matter how powerful, how successful or how insignificant you feel you are at your job, you’re going to face fears. Whether it’s fear of the unknown, fear of advancement or complacency or just the age-old fear of change, some of the most common career fears plague us all from time to time. Does my boss value my work? Am I doing all I can to be successful? Will I ever earn more money? Will I ever get ahead? There are so many common fears, and we’re here to tell you how to face them.

Fear of Failure

Failure is not an option – we all hate to fail. It’s a horrible feeling that does nothing for our self-esteem and confidence. However, we have to overcome the fear of failure because it causes so much complacency and stress. The best way to get over your fear of failure is simply to remind yourself that everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – fails at some point. Even the CEO of your company, your boss and your coworkers have failed at some point. What they do is take the lesson learned from their failure and apply that lesson to work they do in the future so as not to make the same mistake twice. Failure isn’t awesome, but it’s a great teacher that can help you become successful. We learn from our failures.

Fear of Perfection

We all want to do a perfect job. We want to be perfect parents, spouses, employees, coaches, and examples. But we can’t be perfect at everything – or anything, really. It’s a common career fear so many people live with; I’m not good enough. Guess what? You are good enough. Someone hired you, but that doesn’t mean they don’t expect you to be perfect. They know you’ll make mistakes, and they know you’ll have moments. To overcome this fear, remind yourself that you’re excellent at all that you do, and that no one is perfect, so it’s not really a competition.

Fear of Change

Change is something that happens every day. However, most change is so slow, so small and so gradual that most people don’t notice it until they look back and realize it happened right under their noses. Fear of change is never good in the workplace. Change is what helps add to success. Without change, we’re the same forever. The same doesn’t always work. Remind yourself that all change comes with a little good and a little bad, but focusing on the good is going to make it easier. Find a good aspect to every change at work and focus on that.

Fear of Quitting

You’re obligated to your boss. The company needs you. They’ve been so good to you. It’s never a good idea to quit because people don’t like a quitter. Let’s get something straight – if what you do no longer satisfies you or is your passion, it’s time to move on. Don’t think of it as quitting – think of it as moving on. Think of it as forward movement and advancement. Sometimes quitting something you no longer love is what will make you happy.

Fear of Time Management

You have a spouse and a child or a child on the way. You have soccer games and cheer practice and work meetings and travel and a family at home. You also have meetings and there’s no time for all of these obligations. It’s not going to do you any good to agonize over your fear of managing your time properly. Guess what? A good system, a strong support system and a bit of organization will help you stay on track and manage your time. Take a deep breath; it will all get done.

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