Fear of failure/public humiliation is the number one reason psychologists and therapists put off that big project they have been wanting to do. The good news is we can use the same skills we apply to clients to overcome this and do great things. This is the first in a series of mindset coaching episodes to get you off the starting blocks.
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Blog: How the fear of failure is killing your creativity as a psychologist or therapist and how to deal with itMy https://www.drrosie.co.uk/quiz (quiz ) is designed to help you figure out what is getting in the way of your creativity as a psychologist or therapist. A theme that has come out over and over again is the fear of failure. We often get stuck in our practice, knowing we want to do more but paralysed. Sometimes this is because we don't know WHAT to do, which is why the Do More Than Therapy membership, and this podcast, have practical topics like "how to publish a book" with Tim Lewis. But often, we do know what to do, we just can't seem to make ourselves do it. This is usually because we are paralysed by fear.
Most of us feel this fear when we are stepping outside of our comfort zones and doing something new to us. I certainly get it when I'm recording this podcast!
What is so scary about failure for psychologists and therapists?I use a lot of ACT in my work and I find it helpful to think of the fear of failure as "fusion with the outcome" of our venture. By that I mean we have started to act as though several things are true:
That our thoughts are reality
We can predict the future
Whether the project succeeds or fails is entirely down to us
That success or failure of the project means something about us as a person.

People who have been successful in life often get away with this style of thinking as it makes us work very hard. The problem comes when we apply it to innovative projects because failure is an essential part of the process of creating something great and in order to be resilient enough to keep going we need to see the venture as separate to our self worth.
Why we need to fight the fear to be the best psychologists and therapists we can beIf we don't separate from the outcome of our venture we will be operating from a place of fear. This means our body and mind will switch off the capacities for creative problem solving, social connection, resolving conflict and resting and digesting. Basically we will be unable to do our best work.
Also, if we don't get instant success (which we probably won't) we will think it is because "I am a failure". The logical behaviour if we believe this is to give up and hide from others. This is the most harmful thing that could happen to your ability to make an impact on the mental heath landscape.
What needs to happen for your project to be a Success? It may be helpful to consider all of the factors that must align for your project to succeed.
Your intervention (book, course, podcast etc.) has to be what someone else needs at that moment.
They need to understand how it helps them.
They need to be able to afford it.
They need to be able to prioritise the issue.
They need to believe change is possible.
They need to be willing to invest in themselves.
They need to have 15 minutes of peace to make the transaction.
They need to remember to click the button while the...