yBC.tv's video: Chris Hunter: Fear of failure and ridicule

I been very fortunate in my career both in the military, and commercially. To have worked with some truly outstanding people. And I think I’m probably quite blessed in so far as most of the people I have worked with have been really quite amazing and very inspirational. I've learnt a lot from them. But there’s almost two reoccurring themes that I’ve seen that curtail peoples success. You know there are people with forty pound brains, full on alpha-males and alpha-females, with amazing talents. Amazing potential, and hugely confident, and on the surface look like, they were always destined to achieve success. And there were these two areas that seemed to curtail that and one was; an inherent fear of failure, and in some cases, you know a fear of ridicule. And in bomb disposal of course failure is not really an option. It's something that I think you need to have a healthy respect towards. But if you start to fear it to the point where it's going to curtail your success then the consequences aren’t worth thinking about. And so I learnt a lot of strategies to overcome the, the idea of you know, and certainly in a training environment, and in an environment where you know many of us are sort of quite sensitive, it doesn't matter how great and successful we might be. When someone is actually being critical, or when you think there’s an opportunity for someone to criticize, or you know for you to be the subject of ridicule, that tends to curtail people. And I quite often say to people you know; when you’re at work with real professionals, and you’re working under pressure and you’re working to deadlines, you’re working to meet targets. How many of you have the time to look at other people and criticise them, and you know pass comments on them. And the truth is most people don't. And yet people are sort of self-conscious about it, you know. And there all these people that have succeeded, achieved tremendous success. But actually most of them have tasted failure at some point. And it's that sort of taste of failure where they've been able to learn their lessons. And it's been that sort of you know, it’s lit the touch paper that gives them that sort of, the energy and the drive and the desire to achieve success. So that is definitely one area, you know and I will always say to people: ‘Don’t fear failure’. And the other is fear of change. Everything in nature evolves, everything in business evolves, and everything in technology evolves. And yet there are so many people who are so gifted, that actually getting to that comfort zone, and they just fear being pushed out of it. Being encouraged to go and look and explore other areas, you know.And that’s definitely an area as well where you know, I see this fear that curtails success. Chris Hunter, Author, Broadcaster and former Bomb Disposal Operator Interview via Harvey Thorneycroft http://harveythorneycroft.co.uk/