If you have not already read Part 1 of this article, I would encourage you to do so by clicking on this link: Please read Part 1.
In this part 2 of this article series I will use the metaphor of eating an elephant to share what help me in the process overcoming the fear of failure.
As I thought about the answer to the riddle I had a spiritual awakening. My spiritual awakening revealed that for many years I had bought into the notion that many goals were like elephants.
Too large to consider and unrealistic in scope. Not only did I see elephants as ominous, I internalized my inability to confront and deal with elephants. Because of my inability, I experienced feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.
As I internalized my inability to face and deal with many elephants in my life, I experienced an ongoing sense of guilt and shame – debilitating guilt and debilitating shame.
With time and through my recovery work I began to recognize that the debilitating guilt and the debilitating shame that I experienced — on an ongoing basis — stemmed from my fear of failure. As I examined my fear of failure, I began to realize that my fear of failure was rooted in the realm of unrealistic expectations. As I looked closer, I began to recognize how these unrealistic expectations were keeping me feeling discouraged and defeated.
I began to realize that these unrealistic expectations were putting me in no-win situations – because I could not fulfill the ever-changing and unrelenting demands of these unrealistic expectations.
In my search to be freed from the cruel taskmaster of “never enough” I discovered the reason why I experienced anxiety, fear and dread for much of my life. I discovered that I had experienced anxiety, fear and dread because I had believed in a lie. The lie told me that unless I could to eat whole elephants – in a single sitting – neither I, nor my efforts would ever be enough. The lie criticized and devalued my best efforts. The lie told me that I would never amount to anything.
As I examined why I believed in the lie, I discovered that I had an arch nemesis.
Please read Part 3 for context. Thank you.
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