What do you do if your career is stagnating due to fear of failure?

Fear of the unknown can sometimes lead to paralysis. Letting your fear paralyze you into stagnation is akin to actively choosing the status quo. If your current situation is untenable then you have to find a way to move past your fears.

First and foremost, sincerely accept fear as your friend. I know, I know! That does sound counterintuitive but fears are there for one reason and it is to protect you. So don't reject the fear, listen for what it has to say to you. Your biggest fear usually reflects your deepest desire. There is a good exercise for acknowledging your fears and developing an action plan: 1. Write down the absolute worst case scenario however grotesque or hyperbolised it might be of what happens if you make the change in your career 2. Then write down all the positive changes your new move is going to bring 3. Figure out a detailed plan on how you bounce back should a scenario from (1) become a reality 4. Embrace your fears, accept them and go for it!

Building on Aleksandra's comments, fear can be a great driver for change. If anything, it shows you have an awareness of something you DON'T want to be a part of in your present or future. Leverage that feeling and your intuition to get you on a path of where you want to go. If, as Omotola mentioned, fear is paralyzing to you and inhibits your ability to plan out next steps, work to plan next steps with fear avoidance and confidence building in mind, and leverage the experience to adapt and better overcome your fears. For example, as you work to avoid or address your fears through your plan, acknowledge your successes and use that to build more openness to your fears and taking them on proactively!

Don't be afraid to seek support! Indeed, people LOVE helping other people and being a part of their successes! If you already have a mentor, this is one of---if not, THE---best starting points for getting the support that you need. If you don't have a mentor yet, leverage your network, particularly your friends and alumni and trade association groups, to identify those willing to support you. In some cases, you may also find that you need more than support. You may also need a coach to keep pushing you, or a Sponsor to help open doors, in which case be sure to bring them into your plans early!

Acredito que buscar apoio pode ser a melhor solu??o. Uma conversa franca e aberta pode ajudar a identificar o ponto cego em que se encontra e o real motivo da estagna??o. A rotina diária de trabalho e a falta de autogerenciamento da carreira s?o situa??es que fazem o profissional se desconectar de sua trajetória e do que precisa ser feito para alcan?ar o sucesso profissional, como promo??es, aumentos salariais, entre outros.

I used to have a lot of fear about my academic and career potential, but as other posters here noted, and I experienced myself, working to continuously develop, improve, and learn tends to get you "ahead of the game"... If you're constantly developing, growing, and challenging yourself to new heights, you really can't stagnate at all. Indeed, you'll be finding new and exciting opportunities before anyone else!

Learning makes you have a positive feeling about yourself. It means progress and that is the opposite of stagnation. Learn from people's experiences too and add that to your wealth of knowledge.

Perhaps you are using a method that doesn't work. Re-strategise. Change things. Sometimes we just need to change how we do things to get the desired outcome.