Being scared of making mistakes is a sure shot way of inviting more mistakes and hindering your growth.
I use ‘hindering growth’ in the same breath because every mistake presents an opportunity to grow. Yet, we come across people who are mistake-o-phobic.
Mistake-o-phobia is a disorder of the brain in which the person is gripped by an ominous fear of things going wrong. It appalls me as to why and how we get attached to certain events that we end up always predicting and betting on worst case outcomes. All pessimists, please do take note – this is especially for you, with a lot of love and concern.
If you are also gripped by this fear of things going wrong, here are three ways that could help you respond much better to mistakes:
1. “Can I find a reason to feel relieved and happier?”
Yes, something went wrong. But could things have gone any worse?
What if they did?
But they did not, right? Five deep breaths of gratitude for that.
When we start being unconditionally grateful for everything around us, good things start to happen. This is because the brain gets programmed to be in a state of happiness. The brain does not develop fears and phobias just by labelling some event as a “bad occurrence”.
Instead, we get accustomed to searching for the lesson in every incident and moving on. As simple as it sounds, Yoga of Immortals emphasizes the ability to respond and not react to an issue. Our response will be determined by the programming of our subconscious. A pessimist will be accustomed to imagining the worst outcomes in their mind and providing apt justifications for that.
The importance of our thoughts can never be understated – prior to every action, prior to every word, lies a seed of thought that acts as the initiator. The thought is a culmination of our past experiences and impressions stored in our minds.
Yoga of Immortals helps the person rise above the past and focus on the thought that is needed to materialize. With practice, an individual realises that the world around them is a projection of the world within. By changing the world within, we can change the world outside!
Find a reason to be happy and relieved even under tough circumstances – you will then realise that all worries and phobias are unnecessary once this becomes a conscious habit.
2. “Am I willing to grow?”
You are scared of making mistakes because you are scared of an unfavourable outcome. Remember that facing this fear is the only way to overcome the attachment.
The fear can be overcome and faced with fortitude by expressing gratitude for what we already have. People panic because of ‘what-if’s’: “What if something does not go my way?”
The creek of growth lies beyond the trees of fear. Only those who dare to go past the fear can quench their thirst at the creek.
When you see the fear setting in, remember to count the positive things in your life, all the blessings – count all instances in which things have actually gone your way. You surely would have gotten something you wanted in this lifetime – haven’t you?
Recount all such instances and feel gratitude for all the events and people who made this possible.
The next step lies in asking: “Why not?!”
If a dozen occasions have been favourable for me, then why not this? Map out your route to success.
The Yoga of Immortals protocols give you the power to pause, breathe, reflect, choose and prioritise your thoughts effectively.
Meditate on your breath and witness your thoughts as you do so. Ask yourself: does the thought in my mind pertain to a negative or a positive emotion? Is this emotion helping me in any way? Does fear lead to a solution?
At the Yoga of Immortals workshops, the founder, Ishan Shivanand keeps focusing on the affirmation: “good things happen to me”. Ancient Yogic techniques combined with such affirmations have helped thousands of participants experience miracles in the form of healing, success, loving relationships and abundance.
Affirmations rest on a very simple science: the science of communicating with your cells. Every time you express disillusionment, the message you are sending to your cells is that of fear and worry. Affirmations help build on a single positive statement and embed it with the breath. This communicates deeply into your cells until they become the dominant positive thoughts in your mind!
3. “What’s the higher purpose I am solving?”
A person without a purpose would find a seed of worry in every single outcome. With a clear purpose the person becomes more peaceful and the need to prioritise in their life arises.
Know that we all need to surrender this body at some point of time. The ‘lease-term’ of the atoms of our body ends in a few decades. When we leave this body, would the number of projects you managed matter? Would the number of promotions matter? Would scoring less at the exam matter as much then? Would any other so-called mistakes matter?
If you feel they would, you may continue to be cautious. However, do remember that being cautious is not akin to being scared of an outcome.
YOI practices are aimed at helping a person identify the ‘purpose’ that can steer the ship called life. Working through a 9-to-5 job may be intertwined with other events that ultimately lead to your purpose. However, once you know and understand the overarching reason for your birth through deep, ancient YOI effective and powerful meditation techniques, you are freed from the pangs of attachment – attachment in the form of fear, worries, issues, anger, resentment and guilt.
You start to develop a habit of witnessing the events and steering outcomes your way in your mind. The mind holds the key to happiness.
By being clear of your purpose/objective in your mind, you enable a happy, productive life that avoids time-investment on worries and fear. You then carve a life that is action-oriented and aimed at progressing in the direction of your purpose with a single-minded focus.
Ask yourself: What are you really passionate about? What work injects a sense of self-love within you?
Ask yourself if you truly identify yourself with that which interests you. If you have not had the chance thus far, start now: start pursuing your passion with all your heart because now is the time.
This is because your passion, by injecting more self-love within yourself, will help you hone in closer to your purpose. By focusing more of your energies on your purpose, you are ensuring that smaller mistakes elsewhere do not bother you to the extent they used to.
By setting clear objectives for your life, you develop the ability to treat every mistake as a learning that helps you grow towards your objective.
And a final question and tip: What are your long term goals? How would you feel if those goals are achieved?
Breathe in and feel the bliss of achievement, breathe out, feel the gratitude for everything in your life, feel that gratitude spreading. Feel the gratitude for ‘everything’ because there is no success or failure, there is no right or wrong – it’s all a learning for your highest good!
