Atomic Habits author James Clear calls inversion “the crucial thinking skill nobody ever taught you.” It’s free, proven and available to everyone. Yet despite its power, it remains an untapped resource for many professionals. With this one easy technique, you can pivot dead-end ideas into actionable ones in just three steps. 

The power of inversion 

When normal thinking fails, inverted thinking is a welcome form of mental intervention because it uncovers insights you already have, removes internal censorship and breaks habitual thinking patterns. 

Uncovering insights 

While good ideas can feel elusive, the brain has an endless supply of bad ideas. This is tied to our hard-wired disposition toward negativity, known as negativity bias. 

You’ve likely already thought of many bad ideas for any given project subconsciously, but not captured them or explored their potential to pivot into actionable insights. 

Removing internal censorship

Self-imposed mental filtering dilutes creative thinking. Bad ideas shouldn’t be avoided in the creative process: they’re important stepping stones. They might even be responsible for some of your favorite songs. 

“The hundreds or thousands of dumb ideas that I’ve had are what led me to my good ideas,” shared Taylor Swift while accepting the Innovator Award at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards. “You have to give yourself permission to fail.” 

Breaking habitual thinking patterns

The human mind is programmed for routine and automation. We benefit greatly from this, but mental autopilot is a double-edged sword. Workplace trainer Bob Sager, founder of SpearPoint Solutions, LLC, equates normal thinking with driving on a mental race track. 

“You think you’re thinking hard about it, and you are, but you end up right back in the exact same place because your subconscious process rules your thoughts and activity,” Sager shared. His technique, “the ABCs of bad ideas,” helps you exit the racetrack and go off-road to places you never expected. 

The ABCs of bad ideas

The ABCs of bad ideas is an inversion exercise that Sager invented, though he doesn’t use the term “inversion thinking” himself. Instead, he champions its simplicity: “There’s often elegance in simplicity…. The simpler an idea or strategy is, the more likely it is to actually be implemented.” Try this simple approach yourself the next time you’re stuck in a creative rut. 

Step 1: Make your A-to-Z ideas list 

Articulate the problem that you’re tackling. Then, come up with a deliberately bad idea for solving the problem for each letter of the alphabet, from A to Z. 

For example, say that you’re organizing a free company event and want professionals in your industry to RSVP. Some bad ideas for incentivizing attendance could be: 

• A: Abandoning invitations and opting for word-of-mouth awareness instead. 
• B: Being mysterious or obscure about what the event actually is. 
• C: Charging a fee, even though the event is free. 

The result is 26 bad ideas, some of which Sager says won’t be bad at all—just different. “Different is better than better,” Sager shared, quoting Sally Hogshead. Don’t censor yourself as you write this list. Push past the habitual guardrails that keep you on the same mental race track. 

After your list is finished, ask one specific question to find which bad ideas can be pivoted into good ones. 

Step 2: Ask the magic question 

Look at each bad idea individually and ask: In what ways might I tweak this to make it a good idea? Sager said that this specific question “directs your brain” to find opportunities. 

Looking critically at the corporate event example, opportunities to tweak the bad ideas quickly emerge. Abandoning invitations is risky, but generating word-of-mouth awareness is a strong idea that deserves further exploration. As for charging a fee, this contradicts the fact that the event is free. But you could charge a small fee for guests to RSVP, and then convert that amount into a free drink credit at the event. 

Sometimes, specific ideas on your list jump out immediately as pivot points. Other times, you need to move on to step three to find your breakthrough. 

Step 3: Revisit days later 

After finishing your list, schedule time on your calendar to revisit your bad ideas in three days. Sager said this incubation period will give some ideas new “luster,” thanks to the background processing of your subconscious mind. 

Scheduling this time on the calendar is key, or your odds of revisiting plummet. 

Bad ideas thriving in the wild 

Sager has taught the ABCs of bad ideas to teams, executives and entrepreneurs for years. He also recently did this exercise himself and came up with an idea that sounded really bad at first glance: a 24-hour video livestream. 

At face value, it wasn’t a good idea—but it surely was different. Sager realized it was strange enough to attract the attention of dozens of guests, potential sponsors and hopefully many curious attendees. 

No one will watch the entire livestream, but Sager expects attendees to jump in and out, all asking the same question: What does Bob look like after six, 12 and 23 hours of livestreaming? 

Another ABCs of bad ideas success story comes from a business owner who supplies snacks for corporate breakrooms. The bad idea? Don’t throw away your trash—build something out of it in the breakroom. It turned out that this idea didn’t need any pivoting at all: it was implemented, and it was different enough to engage and entertain people after they ate the last granola bar in the box. 

Invert everything 

As business icon Charlie Munger once said, “Many problems can’t be solved forward.” 

Project managers perform premortems to anticipate where a project can fail, instead of focusing exclusively on how it can succeed. Musicians practice musical licks backward to learn a difficult series of notes. Language teachers have students pronounce words or sentences in reverse order. 

Inversion is everywhere. I hope that inversion thinking has helped you see value in your bad ideas. At a time when so many people are turning to ChatGPT for the same instant answers, your bad ideas have never had more creative power. 

Photo by Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

The post How to Find a Breakthrough in Your Worst Idea appeared first on SUCCESS.

Visually impaired people face extra barriers to employment

Just 52% of visually impaired Americans of working age were employed as of 2023—compared to 80% of the general population. On the bright side, that number is up from 2017, when only 44% of visually impaired people were employed. 

Blind and low-vision people face substantial barriers to employment, including employer discrimination and failure to provide accommodations, absence of training and support, accessible transportation and more. 

“You do have to prove to the employer that you’re capable because most employers don’t know anything about blindness,” Jane Flower, youth outreach specialist at Guide Dogs for the Blind and head of Careers and Canine Connections, told SUCCESS®. “They don’t think people that are blind or have low vision are capable of doing things because they don’t know what technology is available out there to help people.”

Bringing career development and guide-dog mobility together

Careers and Canine Connections gives visually impaired people the tools they need to clear those barriers during its weeklong program, which is held on the Guide Dog for the Blind’s Oregon campus. It’s designed for youth ages 18 to 24 to explore guide-dog mobility along with career development. 

The program includes workshops on mentorship, transportation and accessibility rights under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Participants learn how to look for, land and prepare for a job. They participate in informational interviews and explore career options. 

And they learn about the ins and outs of living with and working with a guide dog—from how to care for the dog to dressing professionally while keeping shedding in mind. This includes a 12-hour trial where they practice taking care of the dog overnight, including feeding, watering, grooming, walking and picking up after the dog.

Participants leave the program empowered with knowledge and choice

That trial run helps participants decide if a guide dog is right for them. Three out of the nine participants in this year’s cohort have already put in an application, Flower said. For those who do decide to apply, they leave the program prepared for the training class they will take once they are matched with a dog.

“I really wanted to have that hands-on experience with one, and so knowing that the program offered that, I knew that it was going to be perfect for me to figure out whether a guide dog would be right for me,” Melina Mendoza, a participant in Careers and Canine Connections, said. “Once I finally did get to have the dog overnight, I was able to realize, yes, this is definitely the right path for me.”

In addition to helping her decide to apply for a guide dog, Mendoza also found the workplace focus and the program’s ADA workshop extremely helpful. While she knew about the accessibility law beforehand, she left with a better understanding of how it applies to her as a legally blind individual. 

“I feel like that was very beneficial and also kind of made me feel more confident in knowing that I had these rights,” she said. “And [tactics] that I could use… if I’m ever in a difficult situation in a workplace.”

Guide dogs build confidence and connections

For those who choose guide dogs, there is an enhanced level of confidence that translates to the workplace, Flower explained—adding that confidence is especially important during the interview process where employers may already have doubts. 

Blindness can also cause isolation, but a guide dog helps form connections with co-workers. As a handler herself, she noted that her guide dog helps her travel for work, navigate new places and meet new people. 

“When you have a cane, it kind of unfortunately deters people,” Mendoza said. “Whereas a guide dog is very open for conversation.”

Since Mendoza plans on working in a hospital setting after graduating from college, she also foresees the guide dog helping her avoid making unwanted physical contact with medical equipment and patients in crowded hallways. This will enable her to feel more confident and avoid potential accidents.

“[A] guide dog is an obstacle avoider, while a cane is an obstacle finder,” she said. Likewise, she is eager to be matched with a dog that will help her navigate around obstacles on campus and aid with public transportation.

Careers and Canine Connections is free and open to visually impaired youth nationwide

There are 13 other guide dog schools in the U.S., with each having their own individual programs, Flower explained. But Careers and Canine Connections—which is in its third year—is the first and only program of its kind. Fortunately, it is open to visually impaired youth from across the U.S. and Canada. And it’s completely free. The program will even pay transportation costs. As she explained, it’s all part of a seismic shift in preparing visually impaired youth to choose careers instead of being funneled into entry-level jobs like call centers. 

Photo courtesy of Guide Dogs for the Blind

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A recent study suggests that relying on ChatGPT for simple tasks like essay writing may impact the brain’s neural connectivity and take a toll on learning skills. It’s an early signpost for a larger question: What happens to human skills when we let machines do the work for us?

ChatGPT reliance may result in weaker brain engagement

In June 2025, MIT researchers released a study that involved 54 participants. In this experiment, they studied the cognitive costs of using large language models (LLMs), namely ChatGPT, in essay writing. 

Students who tackled the same essay prompt were divided into three groups: LLM users, search engine users and a brain-only group. After their initial assigned sessions, the LLM group and the brain-only group swapped conditions: The LLM group would write without any tools, while the brain-only group would use ChatGPT.

Across all sessions, the brain-only group demonstrated the strongest connectivity, memory recall and sense of ownership. However, the LLM group consistently lagged in those metrics, and the search engine group fell in between.

This study is among the first of its kind and, by the authors’ own admission, comes with limitations. Even so, the results align with a broader pattern that’s already been observed in cognitive science.

The cognitive risks of AI reliance

Luke Barr, neurologist and chief medical officer at SensIQ, likens the brain to a muscle that weakens over time if its functions aren’t actively used. “Relying too heavily on tools like AI to think, write or solve problems for us can dull key executive functions like working memory, attention control, language processing and critical reasoning,” he says. 

He also notes that these effects have been observed in spatial navigation, where overreliance on GPS can gradually dull our innate sense of direction.   

“Similarly, AI reliance may bypass our prefrontal cortex—the seat of high-level reasoning and planning,” he adds. “If we’re outsourcing too much cognitive effort, we reduce the opportunity for synaptic reinforcement, which is essential for memory consolidation and learning.”

Barr’s explanation echoes a broader consensus in the field. One 2022 study showed that synaptic plasticity—the strengthening and remodeling of neural connections—plays a central role in learning. When we learn something new, the memory is first encoded in the hippocampus. But for it to stick, this information must be reinforced in the cortex, the brain’s long-term storage.  

Repeatedly strengthening these synapses—through recall and problem-solving while awake and replay during sleep—helps you transform memory into durable knowledge. 

AI reliance breeds self-doubt

Overreliance on AI may also contribute to a decline in confidence. 

“One thing I’ve noticed more and more is that students are starting to second-guess their own abilities, especially as writers,” says Cindy Chanin, founder and director of Rainbow EDU Consulting and Tutoring. She’s had students acknowledge that they put their essays through ChatGPT and believe that the rewritten version, stripped of their original voice, “sounded better.”  

“That’s what concerns me most—not just the use of AI, but the erosion of confidence it can cause
in students who are still discovering their voices,” she adds.

Research points in the same direction. A study from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University, which involved 319 professionals who used GenAI tools weekly, revealed that confidence in these tools not only reduced critical thinking but also encouraged dependency and diminished independent problem-solving. 

Should AI education start early?

Like calculators and search engines before it, AI is becoming irresistible to this generation. And if history is any guide, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes indispensable in classrooms. But not everyone is eager to ride that wave. 

“AI hasn’t sparked a renaissance of learning,” observes Jessica Bartnick, CEO of Foundation for C.H.O.I.C.E, a mentoring and college access organization. Instead, “it’s ushered in a culture of shortcuts, laziness and lowered expectations.”  

According to Bartnick, AI is dangerous because it provides easy access to instant answers, which tempts learners to cheat the process of discovery. “Real education requires wrestling with words and ideas, forming coherent arguments, organizing thoughts, and engaging in trial and error,” she says. 

But Nari Jeter, a therapist and mother of two, argues that each generation must adapt to the tech of its time, as she did with the Internet in her school years. AI, she says, is this generation’s version of that struggle.

“I do think AI may help students tackle more complex problems, especially in the science and math fields,” she says. However, she’s concerned that their writing skills could suffer, especially since digital habits that favor quick reactions—like emojis and shorthand—are already widely used in everyday communication.

As for schoolwork, Jeter believes that children need to learn perseverance, with parents there to guide them through frustration.

AI is everywhere now, so the real safeguard isn’t resistance—it’s balance. In line with this idea, Neil Sahota, a United Nations AI adviser and UC Irvine lecturer, advocates for teaching students how to use AI because trying to ban it would only forfeit opportunities to guide positive behaviors. As a solution, he suggests that classrooms could use AI as a sounding board. For instance, history teachers could have their students fact-check AI-generated essays, or science teachers could assign students to test AI’s ideas in the lab.  

“If we treat AI as just another research shortcut, we’ve lost,” he says. “That’s why we need to teach students how to question AI, how to validate its output and how to use it responsibly.”

Better ways to use AI

So how do we use AI to our benefit? Here are five strategies from experts:

1. Rebuild your metacognition

An excellent way to keep your mind sharp while using AI regularly, Barr suggests, is to rebuild your metacognition. This involves solidifying your knowledge through active recall rather than copying it. 

“After using AI,” he says, “reflect on what you learned. Can you teach it back to yourself or someone else without notes? If not, you likely haven’t processed it deeply enough.”

2. Use ChatGPT to refine your knowledge

Framing ChatGPT as a source for feedback instead of answers is another way to harness AI without losing the skills you’re outsourcing, says clinical social worker Brie Scolaro of Aspire Psychotherapy. That means doing the work yourself before letting AI refine it. 

“Even if your attempt is messy, the act of struggling through forces your brain to engage working memory, strengthen neural pathways and build retention,” Scolaro says. This might include drafting an email or outlining on your own before having AI smooth out your writing. 

3. Practice delayed gratification

Scolaro is also concerned about declining confidence when users constantly outsource their judgment to AI. This is why you should “use AI sparingly to check facts but practice tolerating uncertainty so you don’t lose trust in your own reasoning,” they advise. 

When you feel the urge to outsource an answer, Scolaro recommends delaying the impulse by five or 10 minutes. This practice trains your mind to reason through the problem and thus improves your confidence. 

4. Set intentional boundaries

Equally important is setting intentional boundaries, Scolaro says. That means discerning when AI tools help you and when they undermine the skills you must protect.   

For instance, you could work through math problems on your own and only use AI to spot mistakes and deepen your understanding. This process is about letting AI help you while staying aware and in control of what the machine is doing. 

5. Strengthen your baseline attention

Scolaro also believes that if you use AI tools frequently, it’s important to balance that habit with those that strengthen your baseline attention—your innate ability to concentrate. Stronger baseline attention means you can focus well and use AI strategically rather than habitually. But when your attention is weak, you tend to rush to AI to compensate.

Let’s say you want to understand a document but can’t focus for long. So instead of reading it yourself, you ask AI to summarize it and believe what the summary says without fact-checking the information. That’s substituting effort, which only weakens your attentional skills further.

To instead reinforce your baseline attention, Scolaro recommends evidence-based practices like mindfulness, HRV biofeedback and even simple single-tasking.

The cost of surrendering to AI

We’ve all heard the common refrain by now: “AI is taking our jobs.” That’s not entirely wrong—but since AI isn’t going anywhere, we now have to learn to live with it. Otherwise, the next claim to float into the anti-AI discourse might be, “AI is taking our skills.”

Like any convenience, AI is a double-edged sword, so the onus is on you to use it with care. But remember: Your mind is your greatest asset. It was built to create and resolve. So if you’re surrendering your thinking to AI, you’re wasting the very gift that makes you human.  

Photo by Lilly Rum/Unsplash.com

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Once you know what success looks like for you, the next hurdle is making success happen for yourself. One important step in that process is to cultivate your own success mindset. This mindset can help you visualize a life where you have achieved the goals that will make you successful and follow a path to make that happen. After all, once you figure out how to change your mindset, you can accomplish just about anything.

What Is a Success Mindset?

A success mindset is one that helps people achieve, personally or professionally. It can include many facets, including positivity, goal-setting, self-discipline and resilience. Developing a success mindset involves retraining your brain to approach life in a way that will help you realize your full potential. 

This type of mindset can help you develop habits and attitudes to help you stay focused, resilient and motivated as you work towards your goals, especially when it comes to facing setbacks and roadblocks. With a success mindset, people are able to believe in their own potential for growth. They also strive for genuine clarity of goals, as well as consistent positive self-talk. It also involves holding yourself accountable when it comes to the decisions you make along the way. 

A success mindset can help you foster a clear vision of what you want, stay open to continuous learning along the road and see failures as teachable moments. Ultimately, a success mindset can help you see yourself growing and set goals for how you are going to become successful.

Why Mindset Matters for Success

You set a firm foundation for your future when you take steps to develop a success mindset. This success mindset will help you reframe your failures as opportunities to change and grow, and it can help you build confidence in yourself and your goals. This can help you stay motivated on the journey toward your desired results. If you train your brain to believe in yourself and your own future success, you are also combating one of the greatest threats to success: comparison. 

You can learn to celebrate your own progress rather than following someone else’s journey. Comparison can sometimes lead to beliefs that you are simply not as good, not as successful or not as worthy. Putting your energy into changing your mindset can help you be successful not just in business but in relationships and other areas of life as well. You can learn to communicate effectively and with emotional intelligence, build strong teams and work well with others to achieve goals. 

Despite concerns about issues like inflation and rising fuel costs, many entrepreneurs feel optimistic about the future, according to the JPMorganChase Business Leaders Outlook Survey. John Simmons, JPMorganChase Head of Commercial Banking, asserts that business leaders have focused on turning “obstacles into opportunities.” In other words, their ability to succeed can be at least partially attributed to their adoption of a success mindset. 

Stress can have negative impacts on our health. Negative self-talk can be damaging to creativity and productivity. Life is going to get in your way, and there’s not much you can do to stop that. However, you can change your mindset to set yourself up to be resilient in an unpredictable world.

How to Change Your Mindset to be Successful

There are several different practices you can implement into your life to foster a success mindset.

1. Visualization

Being able to see yourself as a success is the first step. You might want to consider creating a vision board with a collage of quotes, images, dreams and symbols to remind you of the future you are working toward when times get difficult. If vision boards aren’t your thing, you can get a bit of daily inspiration through daily affirmations or mantras. You can buy affirmation cards if you struggle to come up with some yourself and place them on your mirror to repeat at will. You might also benefit from repeating mantras like “I grow through every challenge,” or even simply “This day is my day” when you are having a difficult time.

Keeping a daily journal is an excellent practice both to monitor your progress and sort out your thoughts, and it should help you map out a visual timeline of milestones you hope to meet.

2. Self-Reflection

Being honest with yourself is all about asking “why” you are doing something to find the real motivation. Why are you growing your business, for example? To take care of your family, financial freedom, creative outlet… whatever the answer might be, you are the one who needs to ask it. 

You should never underestimate the importance of self-reflection, according to the Harvard Business Review. It also needs to be a daily practice. Check in with yourself in the morning to see what sort of mindset you need for the day. Consider keeping a weekly win and lessons learned log to document both successes and setbacks. 

3. Goal-Setting

Set yourself clear, actionable goals, like reframing negative self-talk by committing to positive affirmations for 30 days to help your success mindset. You can also set financial goals, like saving $5,000 over a period of time by tracking weekly expenses and getting rid of unwanted subscriptions to see results. If you’re hoping to benefit from a new learned experience, try setting a goal, like joining a networking organization or improving your public speaking by taking part in a Toastmasters club for a short period of time.

The key ingredient here is being realistic about your goals. Setting an unattainable goal for yourself will only harm you in the long run.

4. Cognitive Reframing

Learning how to reframe the way you interpret events is no easy feat. We all have lifelong training from the people in our lives and our own histories, but sometimes seeing the world through that old framework holds us back from a more positive future. Cognitive reframing is all about changing the way you look at the facts in front of you rather than changing them. 

Certainly therapy can help you with cognitive reframing, but there are other useful daily tools you can implement as well. If, for example, you find yourself thinking, “I’m never going to be successful,” you can catch that thought as it happens by asking, “Why am I thinking like this?” Then you can challenge that thought by asking, “Is this true? Will I never be successful?” before reframing the answer. “This isn’t true. I’m just suffering from a setback. I have the tools to build a successful life.” Repeat as needed.

5. Lean on the Experts

We are fortunate to live in a time when we have so much access to research, and there are some incredible tools that have been created by experts along the way. If you want to dig deeper into the timeless philosophies of success and mindset mastery, check out the master himself at JimRohn.com. Rohn shares tips on how to cultivate an environment for success by surrounding yourself with positive influences, shares great tips on how to set goals that work and more. If you’re a podcast person, consider listening to this episode of Unscripted to hear how mindset plays out in real life.

The Power of a Success Mindset in Everyday Life

There are so many factors to finding success in your everyday life, and some factors are simply beyond our control. Which is why it is so important to develop a success mindset over time even if it doesn’t come naturally to you. Using tools like visualization, achievable goal-setting, positive self-talk and cognitive reframing can help you stay on track with your business and your life. Remember that a success mindset is a practice. It’s something you can come back to every day as you work towards your dreams.

Photo from PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock.com

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Enter the personal brand statement. 

Whether you’re representing yourself as an individual or you’re fully embodying your own brand—as someone like Oprah Winfrey does—a personal brand statement can be beneficial. Building a strong personal brand includes creating awareness of who you are, but it’s also critical to portray the brand image you want. Creating a positive impression through your brand statement can be powerful. 

Related: How to Build Your Personal Brand 

What Is A Personal Brand Statement?

Your brand statement, written by you for you, quickly conveys your professional narrative. It encompasses your past experiences and future goals. It makes the perfect asset to share when marketing yourself online or in real-life situations—think networking events or job fairs.

Creating a personal brand statement is similar to building your own tagline or slogan. Large brands are masters of this craft. Target reels people in with its assertion to “Expect more. Pay less.” Meanwhile, Ford promises its cars are “Built to Last.”  

Your statement will admittedly be a bit longer—around one to three sentences is a general rule of thumb. However, you can take a page out of these brands’ playbooks by adding your own unique value proposition. In a nutshell, you’ll summarize what you do, who you serve and what sets you apart from others in your field of work—in a clever, snappy or memorable way. This will act as your north star as you continue building your professional brand. It simultaneously allows you to showcase yourself and your work to others. 

You may be thinking, “This sounds just like a mission statement.” While the two are similar, a mission statement focuses on the overarching principles and objectives of an entire brand or organization, and a personal brand statement hones in on your own one-of-a-kind professional identity. 

Related: ​​Why Building a Personal Brand Is an Act of Self-Empowerment

How to Write A Personal Brand Statement

Constructing your personal brand statement doesn’t have to be difficult. Chances are you have already begun the process as you’ve carved your career path. But maybe you’ve never taken the time to write it down on paper. 

Follow these steps—relevant to any industry or position—to compose an effective and memorable personal brand statement. Then, we’ll share some successful personal branding examples to inspire you.  

1. Identify Your Strengths And Expertise

Start by establishing your area of professional focus. Then, dig in even further to your specialization, best attributes and skills. Use action words in the process such as “I help…” or “I create…”

2. Define Your Target Audience

Who are you trying to reach? You may want to speak directly to clients, customers, recruiters, employers, leaders or maybe industry peers. Tailor your wording to your audience or mention them specifically in your text. For example, “Startup brands hire me to…” 

3. Pinpoint Your Value Proposition

This is arguably the most important piece of the personal branding puzzle. The part where you articulate the specific business need you address and the unique solution you offer that makes you valuable. Don’t exaggerate. However, you can make use of concrete numbers such as your years of experience or figures that speak to your results when applicable. 

4. Keep It Clear And Concise

Get to the point early in your statement and only include information that is necessary and supportive. Your audience is much more likely to remember a short, to-the-point statement than a long-winded paragraph. 

5. Add Personality And Creativity

This is where the memorable part comes into play. Your personal brand isn’t the same as anyone else’s, so your personal brand statement shouldn’t sound like anyone else’s. Don’t be afraid to let your character and individuality peek through. 

6. Revise And Refine

As you develop and grow in your career, your personal brand statement will need to be tweaked to reflect your latest experiences and updated goals. Periodically circle back to keep it relevant. 

Quick tip: Your brand statement is your own. Being authentic and genuine can build trust, create connections and help you be relatable to your audience. Authenticity can help make your brand statement powerful and uniquely yours. 

Personal Brand Statement Examples

Model personal brand statements can be found all over the internet on platforms like LinkedIn and personal websites. Professionals use them to introduce themselves in a quick yet lively way, immediately relaying who they are and how they can help their audience. Check out the following sample branding statements from individuals across multiple industries for inspiration. 

Example 1: Kayla Itsines, Fitness Industry 

I’m Kayla Itsines, Sweat’s cofounder and head trainer. I’ve been helping women around the world feel confident and strong since 2008, and my programs can help you achieve your goals and take control of your fitness in a way that fits into your lifestyle. —Kayla Itsines

Why it works: Kayla speaks to her extensive experience and clearly states her target audience: women around the world. She establishes herself as a leader in the fitness world and her value add is that her programs can be tailored to anyone’s schedule. 

Example 2: Christopher Nguyen, UX Design

I help UX designers go from fuzziness to focused, now freedom. —Christopher Nguyen

Why it works: This short and sweet one-liner relays the message that Christopher is a coach and mentor for other professionals in the UX space. His expertise can help them find clarity, success and freedom in their careers. 

Example 3: Ann Smarty, Digital Marketing

With two decades of experience in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, I’m passionate about helping businesses leverage the power of organic search to drive growth and brand visibility. My expertise lies in creating and implementing comprehensive SEO strategies, crafting compelling content and turning insights into actionable results. —Ann Smarty

Why it works: Ann gives us a peek into her digital marketing career story. Then, she drills down further into her SEO and content specialization, ending with her overarching goal of helping businesses achieve tangible results. 

Example 4: Mari Smith, Social Media 

Often referred to as “the queen of Facebook,” Mari Smith is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on Facebook marketing and social media. —Mari Smith

Why it works: What’s better than a catchy nickname to grab people’s attention? Mari does this with ease, efficiently declaring her mastery when it comes to Facebook and social media in general. It’s clear that it’s her life’s work and passion. 

Example 5: Peter Som, Culinary Creator And Lifestyle Expert 

I believe in the magic of the everyday. It’s all about food, fashion, and home ideas that uplift and fit effortlessly into your life. —Peter Som

Why it works: Infused with whimsy and individuality—just like his brand—this brand statement example presents Peter as a content creator and influencer. He defines his three areas of focus and explains that his recipes and lifestyle ideas are unique because they are simple and easily adopted. 

How to Use Your Personal Brand Statement Effectively

Your personal brand statement will guide you in your professional journey. It’s a powerful tool you can share wherever and whenever you can to gain clients, find new opportunities or simply gain visibility. Here are a few places—both online and in real life—where you can utilize your brand statement:

• On your resume and within your cover letter
• On LinkedIn and other social media platforms
• On a personal website
• During interviews and job fairs
• During networking events and in professional communities
• During trade shows and industry events

Enhance Your Success With A Strong Personal Brand Statement 

Your personal brand statement is your career compass. It allows you to take charge of your own brand narrative and stand out in a crowded marketplace through the presentation of your unique skills. Remember to keep it clear and concise, focusing on your underlying purpose and target audience. Speaking to your value add is critical, but elevating your statement with individuality also helps to make it memorable. As you revisit your statement, consider trends in personal branding, but stay authentic and genuine. 

A well-crafted personal brand statement can help you land that job interview, grant you new clients or win you that coveted engagement. So, take the time to write one that’s bold and unforgettable. Then, never stop refining and fine-tuning it as you continue to grow. 

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My husband and I were headed to an all-inclusive Caribbean resort, where the ads show happy couples frolicking on pristine beaches. In addition to relaxation (and unlimited cocktails), our Curaçao resort offered a range of water sports. We’ve enjoyed snorkeling for years; scuba seemed like the next step.

Meet my anxiety 

My anxiety ranges from barely noticeable to running my life. I’m also an A-plus catastrophizer, which is super fun as an outdoorsy person. Hiking? Bear attacks. Swimming? Riptides. Sometimes I keep anxiety out of the driver’s seat but, spoiler alert, not this time.

Other than a few “What about sharks?” thoughts, I approached my lessons enthusiastically. But my anxiety peeked out during the written training, which focused on what could go wrong underwater. I became convinced my eardrums would explode and I’d be run over by a boat. I ignored the trepidation.

Day 1

We were paired with another couple to complete our PADI open water certification in three days. The wheels started falling off during equipment drills. I’m horrible at taking things apart and putting them back together. Being the slowest and clumsiest made me feel pressured and less-than. Although I liked our instructor, Corwin, we didn’t click with the other couple. I felt like I was slowing everyone down—probably true—and that my classmates were annoyed—maybe true.

In the water, I was afraid to breathe through the regulator. Physically, everything was working fine. I was getting air, but I couldn’t bring myself to trust the equipment enough to stay submerged for five minutes, our first milestone. I’ve never had trouble breathing through a snorkel mask and didn’t expect this part of diving to be a “gotcha.” 

Then, everything clicked. My anxiety vanished. I had gills! We sailed through our drills and ended the day with a magical reef dive.

Jill: 1, Anxiety: 0.

Day 2

I gobbled down breakfast and bounced to the dive center. I bumbled through my equipment check, heavily relying on the buddy system (aka my mechanically gifted husband) to get my gear assembled. I pranced into the water—well, as close to prancing as one can get wearing a 38-pound oxygen tank.   

I was a diver. 

Corwin explained we had a battery of skills to master before our afternoon dive. I freaked out during an exercise where I had to disconnect my air hose underwater, connect to my buddy’s air and adjust my buoyancy to ascend. I couldn’t remember the steps and panicked, fighting my husband as he tried to help me. My brain knew I was near the surface, seconds from air, but my body shifted to fight mode. 

Corwin decided to move forward with the other couple’s certification and stop us where we were. Although he was kind, it tasted like failure.

How it ended

I received a scuba diving certification versus an open water certification, and, yes, I have a card in my wallet to prove it. The main differences are that I must dive with a PADI-certified instructor and I’m limited to 40 feet, compared to 60 feet for open water. Honestly, I envision my future dives as resort or cruise ship excursions, where a certified instructor is already present. 

After a break to regroup, it was time to board the dive boat. I stepped off the boat into the deep water, just like in the movies. 

I am a diver. 

I saw all kinds of marine life, including a moray eel, which was surprisingly unscary considering how much the one in the Chicago aquarium terrified me. I apologized to my husband for “ruining our vacation.” In addition to being a catastrophizer, I’m partial to drama, and he assured me he was A-OK with where we landed. 

The underwater stillness is the opposite of anxiety-inducing. I was comfortable with my breathing and leaned into being a spectator in this submerged world.

What experts say

If you’re thinking about spending part of your vacation taking diving lessons at a Sandals and worry about anxiety hindering you, the franchise is familiar with handling divers with anxiety, provided they disclose it. Ahem.

Sandals Director of Watersports and PADI-certified course director Michael Clarke recommends not being afraid to be transparent with your instructor. “That way, we can give you the extra attention you might need and go at a pace that feels comfortable,” he explains. He also recommends pre-dive meditation or breathing exercises to quiet the nerves.

Licensed psychologist and author Ashley Smith explains anxiety as our built-in threat detection system that looks for anything that could harm us. “Whenever we’re inside our comfort zone, doing the same things we’ve always done, anxiety gets to chill out. It knows what to expect and that we’re safe.”

She suggests helpful strategies for catastrophizers like me, such as treating anxiety like a spam call you don’t answer. Another is countering anxiety with logic. When asking “What if?”, try responding with “Am I mixing up possible with probable?” or consider what advice you’d give a friend in your shoes.

Zero regrets

I often dream of being happy underwater, which I believe is a sign that diving will bring me future joy.

As Smith says, “The goal isn’t to control or get rid of anxiety,” However, “if you refuse to be uncomfortable or let anxiety call the shots or make your decisions, your world is going to be very small.”

I’ll strive to use that mindset next time. There will be a next time.  

Because I am a diver. 

† PADI: Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
† SCUBA: Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

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While it’s easy to view failure as a setback, the truth is, every great success story has a few hard chapters. The key is learning how to move through them, without giving up, and with self-compassion, courage and a willingness to keep trying. Whether you’re looking for reassurance and motivation, experiencing the common fear of failure or simply feeling like a failure, these powerful insights offer perspective and hope.

Many of these quotes explore different perspectives on failure and why it’s not as scary as it seems. Browse these inspirational quotes about failure and get the motivation and encouragement you need.

Quotes About Failure to Help You Face It Without Fear

Failure can feel personal. It can feel like a reflection of who we are, rather than a result of what we’ve done. But the truth is, everyone fails, and generally more often than they admit. These “fear of failure” quotes remind us that failure isn’t something to hide from. It’s something to expect, accept and learn from.

• “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” —Henry Ford
• “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas Edison
• “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” —Robert F. Kennedy
• “There is no failure except in no longer trying.”  —Chris Bradford, Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword
• “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” —Zig Ziglar
• “Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” —Zig Ziglar
• “Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” —Michael Jordan

• “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” —Elbert Hubbard
• “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Winston Churchill
• “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” —Stephen McCranie, Brick by Brick

Related: Learn How to Overcome the Fear of Failure

Encouraging Quotes About Failure to Help Overcome It

Once the sting of failure hits, it can be hard to see past it. These reflections offer comfort, strength and the quiet encouragement to get back up even if your confidence is shaken. These “overcoming failure” quotes are just the beginning. Let them remind you: you’re not starting over, you’re starting wiser.

• “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” —J.K. Rowling,  Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination
• “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” —Japanese Proverb
• “Failure is not falling down, but refusing to get up.” —Chinese Proverb
• “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.” —Confucius

• “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan
• “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat.” —Denis Waitley
• “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” —Richard Branson
• “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” —Abraham Lincoln
• “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” —Henry Ford

Related: 60 Resilience Quotes That Will Give You Strength

Motivational Sayings About Success & Failure for a New Perspective

It’s easy to separate failure and success and label them as good and bad. But in reality, they’re often part of the same process. These “fail better” quotes show how failure can teach, redirect and even accelerate success when we let it. Sometimes the detour is the path.

• “Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.” —John Wooden
• “Failure is success in progress.” —Albert Einstein
•  “Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.” —John Dewey
• “You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.” —Barack Obama
• “Confidence is built upon the experience of success.” —Denis Waitley, The Psychology of Winning
• “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail… No one is going to know or care about your failures… All you have to do is learn from them… Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.” —Mark Cuban

• “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” —Albert Einstein
• “Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.” —Napoleon Hill
• “It’s not WHETHER you get knocked down. It’s WHETHER you get up.” —Vince Lombardi
• “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” —Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho

Quotes That Inspire Self-Compassion & Growth After Failure

We’re often our harshest critics. But real growth doesn’t come from shame or self-blame. It comes from reflection and a willingness to try again. If you’re feeling like a failure, these words are here to soften that inner voice and remind you that failure doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you’re brave enough to try.

• “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” —Brené Brown, Dare to Lead
• “It becomes understood that happiness is not dependent on circumstances being exactly as we want them to be… knowing that joy and pain, strength and weakness, glory and failure are all essential to the full human experience.” —Kristin Neff, Self‑Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
• “Self‑compassion simply requires being a good friend to ourselves.” —Kristin Neff
• “Let go of who you think you should be in order to be who you are. Be imperfect and have compassion for yourself. Connection is the result of authenticity.” —Brené Brown
• “When we deny our stories…they define us. Our job is not to deny the story, but to defy the ending.” —Brené Brown, Rising Strong
• “Our successes and failures come and go—they neither define us nor do they determine our worthiness.” —Kristin Neff, Self‑Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
• “Self‑compassion is key because when we’re able to be gentle with ourselves in the midst of shame, we’re more likely to reach out, connect, and experience empathy.” —Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
• “There are people standing up and saying, ‘You will not harm me anymore. This is not okay. You can not treat me unjustly.’ That’s self-compassion.” —Kristin Neff, in interview on Verywell Mind podcast
• “I needed a close encounter with my imposter syndrome… I needed to stare it down.” —Jessamyn Stanley, Yoke: My Yoga of Self‑Acceptance
• “There is no way to learn to stand without falling.” —Jessamyn Stanley, Yoke: My Yoga of Self‑Acceptance

Quotes That Motivate Us to Keep Trying, Even After We’ve Failed

The hardest part of failing isn’t always the fall. What it comes down to is deciding whether or not to get back up. These quotes about trying and failing offer a gentle push forward. They speak to the power of effort and persistence—even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.

• “The best way out is always through.” —Robert Frost
• “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” —Theodore Roosevelt
• “When the going gets tough, put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Don’t give up.” —Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
• “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” —Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
• “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” —Thomas Edison
• “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” —Confucius, The Analects 
• “Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” —Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Hear
• “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” —George Edward Woodberry
• “Let me tell you the secret that has led to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.” —Louis Pasteur

• “Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.” —James A. Michener

Why Failure Isn’t the End of the Story

Failure may slow you down, but it doesn’t define you. In fact, it often becomes the soil where your strongest qualities grow, be that resilience and clarity or creativity and grit. Whether you’re in the middle of a failure or still carrying the weight of an old one, let these words remind you: failure is not a verdict. It’s a chapter. And you are allowed to turn the page.

Take a quote with you today. Write it down. Sit with it. Let it change the way you see the past and the way you walk into the future.

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The challenge is staying open. That takes intention. It means being humble enough to ask questions, brave enough to change your mind and curious enough to keep going when things get tough. But the reward can be a richer, more meaningful life.

These lifelong learning quotes are reminders that education isn’t just a phase of life; it’s a mindset. From well-known thinkers to powerful authors, each quote offers a nudge to stay curious, open and teachable. Let these words guide you on your journey to never stop learning.

‘Never Stop Learning’ Quotes to Keep Expanding Your Mind

Learning is how we grow—not just in knowledge, but in character and perspective. When we seek out new ideas, challenge our assumptions and keep our minds active, we make ourselves more adaptable and better prepared for life’s changes. Whether through books, experience or conversation, lifelong learning keeps us sharp. These quotes about lifelong learning encourage that steady education-focused mindset.

• “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” —Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
• “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
• ‘No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.” —Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• “A man only learns by two things; one is reading and the other is association with smarter people.” —Will Rogers, The Autobiography of Will Rogers
• “Change is the end result of all true learning.” —Leo Buscaglia, Love
• “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” —Mahatma Gandhi
• “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” —Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy
• “Learning never exhausts the mind.” —Leonardo da Vinci, Notebooks
• “Learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change.” —Peter Drucker

• “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” —Kofi Annan

Related: Growth Mindset Quotes to Inspire and Empower

We’re Always Learning: Quotes to Remind Us Lessons Are Everywhere

Life teaches us in many ways. Sometimes the biggest lessons come from unexpected places: mistakes, quiet moments, hard conversations. If we’re willing to listen and reflect, everything around us becomes part of the curriculum. These “always learning” quotes remind us that learning doesn’t just happen in classrooms; it happens in the middle of real life, every day, if we’re paying attention.

• “You learn something every day if you pay attention.” —Ray LeBlond
• “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” —B.B. King
• “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” —Albert Einstein
• “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” —William Arthur Ward
• “One learns from books… only that certain things can be done. Actual learning requires that you do those things.” —Frank Herbert, Children of Dune
• “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” —John Dewey
• “Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
• “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” —Phil Collins, “Son of Man”
• “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” —Jimi Hendrix
• “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” —Sydney J. Harris

Related: 95 Uplifting Quotes About New Beginnings

Inspirational Sayings to Keep Learning & Growing Every Day

This section features original, short “never stop learning” quotes written by the SUCCESS® team just for this article. They reflect the inner drive and resilience that fuel lifelong learning. Staying committed to personal growth often means doing the hard, unglamorous work: admitting you don’t know something, being willing to start over and choosing growth even when no one’s watching. These sayings are for anyone who wants to keep growing, even when it’s tough.

• “Growth doesn’t happen in comfort. It starts the moment you admit you don’t know it all.”

• “The best learners are never the loudest in the room. They’re the ones still asking questions.”
• “Every mistake is a lesson in disguise. If you’re not failing, you’re probably not learning.”
• “Learning is a habit, not a hobby. Feed it daily or it starves.”
• “The moment you think you’ve arrived is the moment you stop moving forward.”
• “Read, reflect, repeat. That’s how wisdom grows.”
• “There’s no age limit on curiosity. The mind doesn’t retire.”
• “People who keep learning don’t just stay relevant; they stay alive.”
• “Don’t wait for someone to teach you. Curiosity is permission enough.”
• “Learning is the one thing you can own forever without carrying a thing.”

Related: How to Cultivate a Success Mindset 

Inspired Quotes to Remind Us Leaders Never Stop Learning

Good leaders are humble enough to admit they don’t know it all. In fact, the best leaders are often the best learners: always listening, improving and staying open to better ways of thinking. Learning isn’t just part of leadership, it’s at the core of it. These inspiring growth quotes remind us that strong leaders never stop learning.

• “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” —John F. Kennedy

• “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch
• “True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed…. Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.” —Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In
• “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams
• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela
• “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” —Ray Kroc
• “Great leaders never stop learning.” —Simon Sinek
• “The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.” —Henry Kissinger
• “Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.” —E. M. Forster

Why Lifelong Learning Matters More Than Ever

We live in a world that changes fast. Technology, careers, relationships—they all evolve. Staying open to learning keeps us grounded and ready. More than that, it makes life richer. Whether you’re learning to cope, lead, heal or build, the “never stop learning” quotes above are proof that knowledge doesn’t age, it deepens. So keep reading, asking, listening and growing. Not because you have to, but because you can.

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It can present as trembling hands, a pounding heart, and racing thoughts before a speech or interview. That “What if I fail?” loop fuels avoidance and a fear of making mistakes that can hold you back at work, in school, and in relationships.

The good news? You can use our guide to help overcome the fear of failure. Here you’ll gain a deeper understanding of atychiphobia and find practical, evidence-informed strategies to combat it. This includes major steps like setting flexible goals, reframing failure as feedback, and taking small, safe exposures.

What Is Atychiphobia?

Atychiphobia is an extreme, prolonged fear of failure. It’s different from the usual fear of failing and nervousness that anyone may feel in challenging situations. Instead, like other phobias, atychiphobia can often lead to noticeable physical symptoms.

Common symptoms include shortness of breath, increased heart rate, and butterflies in the stomach. Others may experience tightness in the chest, trembling, sweating, or nausea.

That said, you can have a persistent fear of failure with or without all these physical symptoms. The fear manifests itself in different intensities in different people, and the physiological signs are not always obvious.

Watch out for these behavioral and emotional signs that indicate you may be struggling with a fear of failure:

• Avoiding challenging tasks and opportunities: You may procrastinate or even completely avoid taking up challenging tasks you are not confident about.

• Worrying about the possible impacts of failure: You tend to amplify your fear by worrying about disappointing others, people losing interest in you, being judged and other impacts you think will follow your failure.

• Prophesying failure: You may repeatedly tell people that you are likely to fail in a situation, so they don’t get disappointed if you actually fail.

• Self-sabotaging: Since failing after putting in effort is painful, you may rather choose not to put in the effort, sabotaging your chances of success.

• Feeling helpless: The fear may make you feel helpless in challenging situations, as if nothing can save you from failing.

The physical signs may also accompany these emotional signs sometimes. Overall, the fear of failure can cause you to have a pessimistic outlook on your life and growth. 

Understanding the Fear of Failing and Where It Comes From

You can be persistently afraid of failure due to one or multiple causes. These may range from childhood and past experiences to perfectionist tendencies and social expectations. Here are some common causes of fear of failure: 

1. Childhood Conditioning

If you grew up in a household where setbacks and failures were met with disappointment, ridicule, shame and anger, you may continue to carry that conditioning into your adult life. You may fear failing because you don’t want to disappoint others. The thought of any mistake or failure, even a small one, may bring about a wave of self-criticism and disappointment.

2. Observational Learning

It’s also possible that you inherited a fear of failure from someone in your family. If, as a child, you were around people who intensely feared and couldn’t handle failure, you may have subconsciously adopted their behaviors growing up. Now you might procrastinate, avoid challenging tasks and sabotage your efforts. This could be because this is how you saw your parent or caregiver handling failure.

3. Negative Past Experiences with Failure

At times, a fear of failure might arise due to negative or traumatic memories. For example:

• You may fear public speaking as an adult because your classmates once bullied you for messing up a speech back in middle school. 

• You may fear failing in your career goals because years ago, you failed that entrance test to that dream college you had prepared so hard for.

• Perhaps you fear taking on challenges because the last time you did, you switched careers and later struggled to make ends meet for your family.

Such traumatic past experiences can linger on and trigger intense fear in specific areas of life.

4. Perfectionism

Sometimes, fear of failure may stem not from the prospect of failure but rather from a very high, often unrealistic expectation of success. If success for you means doing everything “perfectly,” everything else may appear as failure. Such perfectionist tendencies make you set unusually high standards. This may cause you to live with a constant underlying fear of failing to meet those standards and feel worthless if you don’t succeed on your terms.

5. Low Self-Esteem

A lack of self-esteem may directly give way to a fear of failure. If you don’t believe in yourself or your ability to succeed, you may constantly have a fear of failing at your endeavors. Any setback, big or small, can shake your confidence and self-worth.

Besides these common causes, your genetic history can also make you more prone to fear and anxiety. Regardless of the cause, though, atychiphobia can affect your life in many ways.

How a Phobia of Failure Can Hold You Back 

While many of us have some fear of making mistakes, a deeper phobia can greatly impact a person’s life. If left unchecked, atychiphobia can take a toll on a person’s personal growth, career, relationships and beyond. While it often hampers their ability to succeed, sometimes it may make them live with fear and anxiety even as they keep succeeding in life. 

Let’s look at some of the ways a phobia of failure can impact your life:

• Poor performance: Tendencies like procrastination, avoidance and self-sabotage that often stem from fear of failure can stop you from trying your best in your studies or career. As a result, your academic or professional performance gets hindered and productivity remains low.

• Reduced motivation: When you fear making mistakes and failing, you also lose much of the motivation to try new things that may come with risks. You’d rather play it safe and avoid new experiences.

• Difficulty in relationships: Fear of failure can affect your ability to form and sustain healthy relationships. You may feel so afraid of rejection or getting hurt that you avoid commitments. You might adopt an avoidant attachment style.

• Physiological effects: Along with its unique impacts, fear of failure can also have the typical physiological effects of phobias over a long time. Long-term fear and the resulting stress can lead to high blood pressure, sleeping issues and increased chances of cardiovascular diseases.

How to Get Over a Fear of Failure 

A persistent, nagging fear of failure may bring much chaos to your thoughts and life. But the good news is that it’s possible to manage your fear with consistent efforts. Try these seven actionable strategies to overcome your fear of failure:

1. Set Realistic and Flexible Goals

If you are a perfectionist, tweaking your definition of success could help you overcome your fear of failure. Remember that while it’s commendable to reach the high standards you may have set for yourself, not getting there isn’t necessarily failure. 

Yes, it can feel disappointing to fall short of your goals. But a goal is incomplete if it doesn’t leave room for failure. So, instead of setting extremely high, hard-and-fast goals, dial back a little and try setting more realistic and flexible goals.  

2. Counter Your Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts fuel fear, anxiety and pessimism. Be aware of such thoughts and ask yourself if you have a logical or factual reason to think that way. If the answer is no, try rephrasing that thought into something positive. For example:

• “I am going to fail.” → “I’ll either succeed or learn something.”
• “This is too challenging.” → “I will try my best anyway.”
• “If I fail, I am a failure.” → “Even if I fail now, I can grow and succeed later.”

If self-help isn’t enough, you can also talk to close friends or others who support you. They can give your negative thoughts a reality check and keep you grounded. 

3. Analyze the Worst-Case Scenario

One of the best ways to deal with fear is to face it head-on. This is different than entertaining negative thoughts. Instead of fearing what will happen if you fail, consider the situation. Analyze that possibility based on facts and logic. What exactly are you afraid of? How will it affect you? What can you practically do if things go south?

You can prepare a backup plan of action if you can. But no pressure; even just addressing the source of your fear can help ease the tension. You can also try writing your fears down on paper, as it can significantly help declutter your head.

4. Remember a Positive Past Experience

If your fear of failure is persistent, chances are you have felt this fear before in a situation that later turned out to be a success. Thinking about such positive past experiences can remind you that your fear—however dreadful or serious it may seem—isn’t always reliable. More importantly, it will remind you that you have faced and survived this fear before and, therefore, can survive it again.

5. Reframe Failure as Feedback

Failure is not something unnatural or wrong; it’s integral to growth and success. Instead of trying to avoid failure all the time (spoiler: you can’t), accept that it is normal. Reframe your idea of failure from an unwanted outcome to an integral part of life. Use failure as feedback to improve while also embracing the fact that you can’t entirely control the results.

6. Normalize and Validate Your Fear

Sometimes, what you fear may not be failure itself but the feeling of fear. After all, fear never feels pleasant, and you may want to avoid feeling it in the first place. However, avoiding or fearing this fear only makes handling it more difficult.

Fear is an emotion. Like all emotions, it’s meant to be felt. Instead of trying to escape or fight it, accept it. Normalize negative emotions like fear and anxiety. Remember that they are as natural as happiness and excitement. They can also coexist with confidence. You don’t have to work around your fear, but through it.

7. Embrace a Growth Mindset

In 2006, researcher and psychologist Carol Dweck introduced the concept of fixed and growth mindsets in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. While a fixed mindset stems from the belief that your abilities are fixed and unchangeable, a growth mindset leans towards constant improvement and learning with time and effort.

If you often find yourself ruminating over your failures, shifting to a growth mindset can help you be more resilient and adaptable. The key is to embrace challenges and start seeing failures as stepping stones (not roadblocks), while also being more comfortable when things don’t go the way you planned. 

When to Seek Support for Atychiphobia 

The strategies above can help you overcome your fear of failure. However, if the fear is making it difficult to go through your daily life, self-care and practical strategies alone may not be enough. Consider seeking professional help if that is something you’re experiencing.

Various types of psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or exposure therapy, can help you combat your fear of failure. Your health care provider may also consider medication to help you overcome your phobia. 

Live a Life Where You’re Free to Succeed

The fear of failure doesn’t have to define you. By exploring its impacts, root causes, and methods that can help, you can take steps towards a healthy, successful mindset. Remember to seek outside help from a medical professional if needed. When you work towards accepting yourself and overcoming failure, you can open yourself to living your best life and realizing what success means for you. 

Meanwhile, you can also check out JimRohn.com for more strategies and teachings on overcoming fear, building confidence and developing a resilient mindset. 

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Vision board quotes can help provide inspiration and motivation to go after your dreams. 

They can range from simple sayings that spark your creativity to powerful phrases that propel you forward toward your goals. Plus, a collection of these quotes can be as unique as you are. 

Vision boards are more than just collages of pretty pictures—they’re powerful tools for motivation and focus. By combining visuals with meaningful quotes, words and phrases, you create a daily reminder of the life you’re working to build. 

Motivational quotes, in particular, can provide the encouragement you need when challenges arise, helping you reconnect with your goals and keep moving forward. Whether you’re seeking clarity, confidence, or inspiration, the right words can help shape your mindset. These inspirational quotes for vision boards may be able to help you see the path toward achieving your goal. 

Motivational Quotes for Your Vision Board 

Motivation often fades when life gets busy, but a vision board serves as a constant spark to keep your goals alive. By displaying your dreams through images, words, and quotes, a vision board transforms abstract desires into something tangible and inspiring. Each time you look at these vision board quotes, it will remind you of what you’re working toward. 

• “Not all those who wander are lost.” —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

• “The only thing that’s keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself.”  —Tony Robbins
• “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” —Amelia Earhart
• “Creativity is admired only if it solves the problem.” —Amit Kalantri
• “Spend zero time on what you could have done and devote all of your time on what you might do.” —Ben Horowitz, The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• “Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and repeat to yourself, the most comforting words of all; this, too, shall pass.” —Anne Landers
• “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” —Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
• “Your past does not equal your future.” —Tony Robbins
• “To be a great leader, you have to be a great listener.” —Gary Vaynerchuk
• “Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good.” —Anne Landers
• “Choices determine character.” —Brandon Mull, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
• “In the end, you should always do the right thing even if it’s hard.” —Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song
• “You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.” —Deepak Chopra

Related: How to Make a Vision Board to Kick-Start Your Goal Setting

Inspirational Dream Board Quotes Help You Keep Reaching  

Inspiration is the fuel that turns dreams into action, and that’s exactly why it belongs on your vision board. Inspiration helps you push past doubt, stay resilient through challenges, and remind yourself why your dreams matter in the first place. By filling your vision board with symbols of hope and motivation, you’re not just imagining a brighter future—you’re actively guiding yourself toward it. Browse through these inspirational quotes for your vision board to see what speaks to your soul. 

• “Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear.” —Tim S. Grover, Relentless
• “Build self-esteem, not entitlement.” —Gary Vaynerchuk

• “You don’t learn to walk by following the rules. You learn by trying and failing and trying again.” —Richard Branson
• “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• “If you talk about it, it’s a dream. If you envision it, it’s possible. If you schedule it, it’s real.” —Tony Robbins
• “Unless today is well lived, tomorrow is not important.” —Alan Sakowitz, Miles Away… Worlds Apart
• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” —Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
• “Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies.” —Anne Landers
• “Reach for the stars, but remain grounded.” —Frank Sonnenberg
• “Know what you want, work to get it, then value it once you have it.” —Nora Roberts, Morrigan’s Cross
• “It was impossible, of course. But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming.” —Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer

Related: 100 Uplifting Quotes About New Beginnings for Your Fresh Start

Positive & Powerful Vision Board Phrases  

Success vision board quotes can offer powerful insight and positivity. They can elevate a vision board. While images and single words spark emotion, a well-chosen quote adds depth, reminding you not only of what you want but also why you want it. Positive quotes can shift perspective in difficult moments. They can serve as daily affirmations that rewire your mindset toward growth. These vision board phrases help anchor you in optimism, making it easier to stay motivated.

• “There was nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the stars.” —Jack Kerouac, On the Road
• “Deliberate practice is more important than natural talent.” —Amy Morin, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do

• “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” —Jim Rohn
• “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” —Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
• “If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can.” —Tony Robbins
• “We accept the love we think we deserve.” —Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• “Choices determine character.” —Brandon Mull, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
• “Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.” —Anne Landers
• “Time flies when all you do is work.” —Isabelle Lafleche, J’adore New York: A Novel
• “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react.” —Charles R. Swindoll
• “Even a snail will eventually reach its destination.” —Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
• “Aim higher in case you fall short.” —Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
• “You can’t live your life for other people. You’ve got to do what’s right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.” —Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
• “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” —Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

Vision Board Sayings to Help You Achieve Success  

Vision boards can be a way to help us work towards and achieve our goals. They help to keep our motivations in sight and success within reach. These original vision board sayings by SUCCESS® contributors will inspire you to take that next step toward greatness. 

• “Dreams are just goals waiting for a deadline.”
• “What you visualize, you magnetize.”
• “The future is built by the persistent.”
• “Hold the vision and trust the process.”
• “Keep your goals in sight and your excuses out of mind.”
• “Every win starts with belief.”
• “See it. Believe it. Do it.”
• “Your vision creates your direction.”
• “The life you want starts with the thoughts you choose.”

• “You’re one bold decision away from a new chapter.”

15 Powerful Vision Board Words  

Individual words can be some of the most powerful elements on a vision board because they act as anchors for your intentions. A single word like “courage” or “abundance” can instantly trigger a mindset shift, reminding you of what you’re working toward. Words are easy for the brain to hold onto, making them effective daily cues. These powerful words for vision boards help create a constant visual reminder of the energy you want to embody.

• Abundance

• Growth
• Freedom
• Balance
• Courage
• Gratitude
• Love
• Success
• Clarity
• Strength
• Focus
• Health
• Wealth
• Confidence
• Adventure

Bringing Your Vision to Life

At their core, vision boards are about keeping your dreams visible and your motivation within reach. The quotes, words, and sayings you choose should reflect not only what you want to achieve but also who you want to become along the way. Over time, these small daily sparks of inspiration can build the momentum needed to turn visions into reality.

Photo by New Africa/Shutterstock

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