How to Overcome the Fear of Losing

You may think that you are right to fear and hate the thought of losing. After all, competition is a healthy part of life and people are encouraged to do their best. You may feel the fear of losing is merely a natural progression from this attitude. You may even think that fear of losing is essential to your motivation. However, for some people, the fear of losing gets out of control and seriously impacts their lives. You need to overcome this fear when you begin to see it as a problem, and perhaps when others comment on it.

Instructions

How to Overcome the Fear of Losing

• 1

  Write down how the fear of losing makes you feel. Describe whether it makes you feel angry, frightened, distressed or all of these. Analyze whether this feeling has become more acute and try to trace its origins. It may be that it coincides with a particular stressful period, or the loss of something or someone that was important to you. Sometimes a person's feelings about loss may become confused.

• 2

  Observe other family members and see if you can identify this reaction in them, also. Sometimes parents impart these fears by linking attention and approval with success. If this was the case in your family, try to be objective about this, asking yourself if it was carried to extreme lengths during your childhood. Recognition may be enough to help you overcome your fear. Discuss this with your siblings and other members of your family if you feel comfortable doing so.

• 3

  Distance yourself from your failulres. Failing in one area does not make you a failure as a person. Recognize your own strengths and realize that your worth as a person is not dependent on this one area. Tell yourself about the number of successful people who had some spectacular failures along the way. In fact, there is an argument that you have to experience failure to eventually succeed.