What do you do if you're afraid of failing and want to take career risks?

Failure stings. When you feel like you've failed, before you go back into action mode, pause and accept the situation. Process the emotions (anger, self doubt, etc.) and let them run their course. Rumination is one of the toughest parts. As your emotions come back into a more balanced state, take into account what happened. Start to build out a plan on how to address the issues or come up with a completely different approach. As you start taking action again if self doubt creeps in, add to the action plan on how you might address it. Sometimes it takes a bit to bounce back, however, if you're able to clear your head and start taking actions again you will get to the right destination.

You should be afraid of failure. That's what drives you on. But it happens. The first time it happens, YOU feel like the failure. The more it happens, and it always happens, you learn that its normal and your job is to get good at getting back up, learning and going again (even after a little cry)

Companies need to look for new types of talents and skills to develop and adapt. If the new employer believes in you and your skills - you should try to look at the possibilities and challenges from their angel. You could discuss it with friends or close colleagues as well to hear their point of view as well. Listen and learn from the outside angel and have confidence in their advices.

Practice Self-Compassion! Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, especially when facing challenges or setbacks. Acknowledge your efforts and resilience in taking career risks, and recognize that setbacks are a natural part of growth. By practicing self-compassion, you can cultivate the resilience needed to persevere in the face of uncertainty.

Worst case scenarios, just like the other extreme, really come to fruition: most often, the outcomes are somewhere in between. Any career risk you are taking will offer you some gains and some loses. Make sure what you expect as positive outcomes align with your career goals and milestones. Staying put in a world that is constantly evolving will over time, put you behind in terms of new experiences, relevant skills and overall growth.

You fear what you don't know. This is why it's important to conduct a Root Cause Analysis of your fear, which will pave the way forward. You will then be able to understand if it's worth the time and effort, and if yes, how much...

Memento Mori <- that's an old way of saying: Be mindful of the day you will inevitably die. I don't know about you, but If you are analysing risks like a computer with only your rational mind, you mind end up in a career that caters only to your rational mind. Simply put: Also engage your heart and hands. Taking risks is quite simply necessary to live a full life. Yes: Your analytical mind might advise you against taking a leap, but that doesn't have to stop you to do it anyways. Our culture is obsesses with grip and control, but the most beautiful things in life are beyond that.

Feeling fear before taking a career risk is natural, but don't let it immobilise you. Start with a thorough risk analysis: weigh the potential benefits against the worst-case scenarios. Ask yourself, "What's the best that could happen? What's the worst, and how likely is it?" Prepare contingency plans for adverse outcomes to mitigate risks. This approach not only boosts your confidence but also provides a clear roadmap for recovery should things not go as planned. Remember, every significant career move involves some risk - it's about managing it intelligently to propel your growth. ????

Our own self narrative is often a barrier to taking any step at all. Speak to yourself with compassion and encouragement. Break big goals down to smaller goals which help define the path to your bigger goal. Document what success looks and feels like, as well as tangible outputs.

When I decided to get into trainings, I started with a live course. That proved to be extremely helpful, as it showed me the pros and cons of this area firsthand, allowing me to make an informed decision. That course also gave me the exposure to training some students, which instilled confidence in me, under supervision. This is how you can take the initial steps, without facing a lot of risk.

Start by turning your own job into a learning lab, i.e., look for opportunities for improving your performance, your job design, team processes, team alignment, or whatever. Keep a record of your best ideas; take them for a spin one at a time; start with the easiest ones if that is more comfortable. Debrief each project: how well did it go; what went best; where did you struggle; and what did you learn from that improvement project. As you build a track record of making improvements, you become more and more capable and confident, more prepared for bigger improvements, and more employable. And you build a portfolio of stories you can use to get in your interviews to get promoted--and coach other when you get that chance.

Being an HR executive can be a lonely position at times. I have often utilized a coach to be a safe, neutral and objective sounding board in times that leaning on a peer would be impractical or impossible.

Work with a friend or mentor to help you map out times that you've taken big risks in the past that ended up giving you big rewards. They may be able to think of accomplishments that you have already forgotten about.

Go back in time.. remind yourself how stressed you were picking the "right" university to attend when you were leaving high school. You thought your life depended on making the right decision. Looking back you know the choice you made shaped you but didn't define you and certainly wasn't life dependent. The decision before you now is similar. Take the step.

Two things. 1. Acknowledge your fear, accept it and then let it go. Let go of any resistance to your current reality and set your intention to move and grow into your preferred reality. 2. It is an amazing realization that you always have a choice of what to do next! You can choose to stay or you can choose to make a change. So if it takes you a couple of times (or a few dozen times) to make the change, that's ok. Don't judge yourself. Every choice offers an opportunity to learn and grow. Acknowledge the learning and growth that have been part of your journey so far. Take little steps towards your preferred reality. Those little steps are key to taking bigger leaps. Just keep moving forward!

In practicing this reframe in mindset, it can help to create little experiments for yourself. Ones in which you can get comfortable with the perceived risk. As you start to learn you are okay and can just make another decision or the world didn’t cave in (whatever your worst case fear was), you will start to lean into this growth mindset and believe yourself that the risk is worth the reward…or maybe that there isn’t any actual risk at all.

Acknowledge your humanity. Your instinct to weigh risks and approach the unknown with caution is hard-wired into us as humans. Acknowledge and thank that trait for how it’s helped you, and then dismiss it. Push aside all the thoughts that crowd your mind about what people will think, who you might disappoint. You are the only one that has to face yourself in the mirror everyday and live with the consequences of your actions. At the end of this existence, what do you want to have been about, championed, and pushed for? What do you want to say proudly…I did that!

Mitigate this fear, conduct thorough research and planning before making any significant changes. Break down the risk into smaller, manageable steps, setting clear, achievable goals for each stage. This approach reduces the overwhelming nature of the risk and provides a clearer path forward. Seeking support and advice from mentors or professionals who have successfully navigated similar changes can also be invaluable. Additionally, developing a plan B can alleviate fears by ensuring you have a strategy to fall back on if things don't go as expected. Embrace a mindset of lifelong learning, where each experience, whether a success or failure, is viewed as a valuable opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Muhammad Ali said something along the lines of - The fight is won long before you step into the ring. It's won in the gym, during training. When you put a lot of work in the preparation phase, things get easier later on. You understand your weaknesses and get to work on them regularly. Then, when you do set foot in the arena (workspace), you are much more comfortable and confident. The action plan you make then will be based on eliminating your problems, and launching you forward, while you try new things. The new things will then bring new challenges, and your action plan will keep evolving, while you keep learning.

Being able to identify your own development or risk gaps first will help you build a plan or strategy to overcome your fear. Play the what if game, and for each scenario have 3 steps of things you can do to help you move forward. For example, what if I don’t get enough feedback on my progress in this next career opportunity. Then step one will be to seek it out, step two will be to out the feedback into action, step three will be to seek a progress update from those you sought feedback from. With each what if scenario you can think of you will have a set of next steps to help you keep your momentum, development and career progression on track.

for me, it's essential to shift our mindset and embrace failure as a learning opportunity rather than a setback. Start by reframing perspective on failure, recognizing it as a natural part of growth and development. Focus on the potential rewards and opportunities that come with taking calculated risks, such as personal and professional growth, skill development, and career advancement. Develop a strategic approach to risk-taking by conducting thorough research, assessing potential outcomes, and creating contingency plans to mitigate potential challenges. Seek guidance from mentors, colleagues, or career coaches who can provide valuable insights, support, and encouragement as you navigate your career path.

First and foremost understand what does failure mean to you. And secondly what is the source of that failure. Look at that failure as an opportunity to put in place actions with an agile and resilient mind .Taking a risk means a choice. Risk has consequences . It implies negative consequences. And strongly influenced by fear. Why fear , when it can be influenced and driven by curiosity , hope, meaning and an adventure. Where in this adventure your character is symbolised as an adventurer. A willingness to journey knowing that there are risks associated with a career change. However you are charting your way with uncertainty , courage and what gives you meaning. Not alone but always with the support and guidance of your well wishers

When we are scared of failing but want to take chances in our career, we should try thinking of failure as a way to learn and grow. Talking to someone we trust for advice and support helps. Breaking down our big risks into smaller steps to makes them less scary. Be brave and curious and remember that taking risks is part of getting ahead. Looking back on times when we have overcome tough situations boosts our confidence. Just keep going even if we are scared because it can lead to exciting opportunities and make us stronger in the long run.

During childhood, we intuitively take risks and adapt to failure - that's the way we learn, and it's how animals learn in the wild. However, throughout school, and as teenagers especially, our education system teaches us to stick in our lane and punishes individualism - instilling fear of failure right when we are in our most naturally audacious developmental phase. Re-embracing that child-like approach to risk, through the lens of curiosity and exploration, can feel exciting rather than terrifying. In this way, if you treat career risks as an experiment, you are in control whatever the outcome, and any experience you gain along the way can be counted a success. And remember, even if your test "fails", that doesn't mean *you* are a failure!

Nenhum movimento de carreira acontece sem se tomar consciência do que se busca para além de um cargo e salário, qual é o propósito de qualquer movimento. Uso a palavra propósito no sentido de inten??o, propósito n?o é algo do além, mas sim algo trabalhado e intensionado dentro dos nossos objetivos, de forma que sim cargo e salário podem ser um dos objetivos dentro desse projeto de carreira que estamos construindo. A partir desse entendimento fica mais fácil de navegar decis?es e movimentos, fica mais fácil de n?o ter medo de arriscar algo que faz sentido na jornada de carreira.