Failure is freightening.

Mostly, the fear of failure seems to come from a fear of what other people ‘may’ think of us. Usually those thoughts are our own projections of stories that we’ve told ourselves over and over again throughout our lives.

The challenge is in responding in a way that is congruent with your values, goals, and aspirations. Responding in a way that includes a growth mindset - the idea that our abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved over time, as opposed to the idea that our abilities are fixed traits and can’t be changed.

Responding in a way that we see the punch as a challenge, not a threat.

Motivation comes from multiple sources and motivation is dynamic, always changing. Use all the sources and be prepared to use more. Dig from inside - Internal sources - autonomy, mastery, curiosity, connection, values and goals… and even extrinsic sources, those from outside of you (but use these less frequently and don’t rely on them!) Spend time reflecting where motivation comes for you, know your story. Know that when you’re fatigued or under a high cognitive load (lots of stress) that motivation may faulter - where’s it going to come from when you’re worn down?