Fear of Failure: Don't Let it Get you Down
Part of the human condition seems to be a fear of failure that keeps us on tenterhooks and prevents us from pursuing our true passions. It creates an unhealthy cycle that, if left unattended, dictates our actions in our personal and professional lives.
In January 2015 I had the dream to go to Germany. After 3 years spent away from my family, I yearned to see them again. While living in South Africa is absolutely amazing, I do feel that unavoidable pang in my heart when I think of my loved ones back in Europe. At the same time, I wanted to attend a few of Byron Katie’s workshops – as one of my biggest mentors, her works are incredibly important to me. I had no idea how I would finance this new adventure. Not long after setting my sights on this new plan, a classmate from Germany contacted me. He was interested in my work, as was another acquaintance of mine, Anne, from Berlin. When the right people enter your life at the right time, magical things can happen. I decided to view this external spark of interest as a new opportunity. It was settled: I would translate the Demartini Method™ into German. At the onset of the project I was terrified. I struggled with English in school and all of my previous language-barriers weighed heavily on my mind. I was constantly worried that I would hit a roadblock and be unable to accurately capture the meaning behind these texts. Failing to translate the text in its entirety would have been a huge blow to me and the time-consuming nature of the task had me feeling panicked on more than one occasion. I was determined NOT to fail. This determination is what pulled me through. I was also fortunate enough to have the help of one of my coaching candidates, who assisted with formatting and making sure that the manuals looked professional. I could not have been more excited when Dr. John Demartini signed my translated documents. It has been one of my greatest achievements so far.
My classmate, Alexander, and the aforementioned Anne helped me to organise the events and talks in Germany. On the 10th of July 2015 I hosted my workshops in Berlin and Baden-Württemberg. Around the same time I attended the Byron Katie seminar in Germany and in December I went on to attend her leadership workshop in America.
Within one year I fulfilled my dream of seeing my family and my goal of attending Byron Katie’s workshops. It’s amazing what you can do when you refuse to let your fears control your actions. If there's one thing I want you to take away from this story, it is the fact that you have the ability to stamp out your fears and take control of your life - you have the power to live the life you have chosen for yourself.
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