Face your fears: 2 work-related anxieties and how to conquer them

We’re all afraid of something but getting past your fear of Michael Myers of “Halloween” lore may be easier than getting past your fear of Melissa Myers, your boss.

“We don’t like confronting the things we have to deal with each and every day and a manager is right up there,” says Sharon Rodriguez, a career coach in Portland, Oregon. “But dealing with our fears at work is essential. Otherwise, we get left behind and will learn to be content with what we have instead of what we deserve.”

Here are two things people are afraid of at work and how to deal with them:

1. Fear of failure

Fear of failure or rejection can immobilize you from taking chances and leave you coasting on autopilot at work. Fear of failure and rejection bog down many employees. They get stuck because they fear attempting a task and falling short or having their ideas rebuffed.

Those who fear failure often end up self-limiting themselves and aren’t able to achieve a fraction of what they are capable of in their chosen field of work.

When a mistake or failure occurs, don’t take it personally. If you gradually face the things you fear, you’ll be able to accept that failure is simply necessary for success. Break the fearful activities down into small, manageable pieces and do more and more of them until you’re comfortable. The key is to manage the fear so it doesn’t paralyze you.

2. Fear of being let go

Keeping work and life balanced is always tricky, but the constant worry of losing your job can definitely take a toll. Especially today, since the economy and marketplace change rapidly in response to social media, political trends and more.

Spending too much time and energy fixating on being fired only distracts you from getting your work done and in the end, may doom you to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of constantly worrying about whether you’ll get laid off or fired, use that fear as motivation to work harder. Tackle that project you’ve been putting off and make that call you’ve been avoiding.

Instead of constantly worrying about whether you’ll get laid off or fired, use that fear as motivation to work harder. Tackle that project you’ve been putting off and make that call you’ve been avoiding. Transforming pink-slip anxiety into a motivator helps you pick up new skills and adds to your value to the company.

– Marco Buscaglia