Overcoming my fears

Earlier this week, I sat back, reconsidering my decision to pursue my academic dream.  It is not in doubt, that I was excited when I was presented with the opportunity to earn another certificate, I knew it would ultimately take me to the next phase of my career.  However, from where I stood on my far left, and the success on my far right, a blocker had crept into my mind and it was growing fast– the blocker was the fear of failure. 

Why do I think I would not do well on my EMBA journey at the Lagos Business School (LBS)?  Why am I so worried that I may not achieve this ambition?  Yes, the workload is much and could be overwhelming, but I questioned how I would get by, and come out at the other end smiling.  I tried to answer these questions and more. One clear answer I had was that I did not want to fail, but from my assessment of the four weeks spent in the Programme, I had not yet found my rhythm. I decided to do something about it.

The fear of failure can be a powerful and crippling force, capable of holding you back from achieving your goals and pursuing your dreams. It infects the mind and spreads like a cancerous tumour, which, if not checked quickly, could have life-long consequences. I have listed three consequences of the effect of my fears and how I intend to deal with them as I continue this journey of my pursuit of excellence at the LBS.

To begin with, I struggle with avoidance behaviour, although a coping mechanism, it could cause an individual to lose opportunities for growth and learning.  I’ve decided to restructure my daily schedule, which includes my job, my academics and my personal life. I’ll concurrently work as best as I can; and find ways, educational videos or persons who will help me deal with the fear of the courses I have challenges with. Most importantly, I will not shy away from asking for help from my colleagues – I know I can’t get through EMBA28 on my own.

Also, I’ve had this feeling of inadequacy and low self-esteem, which is already impacting my mental health and well-being. Discovering that I was not alone on this journey as other classmates were also feeling the same way was extricating.  I am now actively challenging the negative thoughts constantly laying siege to my mind by looking for opportunities to increase my knowledge and avoid negative self-talk. I am also taking note of the likely triggers which could stem from my work, school work and/or my private life. Getting admitted into the LBS is evidence that “I am good enough”.

Most importantly, I need to deal with procrastination: The fear of failure can also lead to procrastination. I have seen myself delay taking action because I fear that may not succeed. This had sometimes led to missed deadlines and unfinished projects.  In this regard, I will actively compartmentalise my time to meet my deadlines.  And as we were recently advised by the LBS MBA Director, I will actively take steps to invest at least 2-3 hours daily in schoolwork.

Finally and in addition to the actions I taking, I admit that there is power in Information, and it helps decision-making.  During the EMBA 28 Cohort meeting, which was held on Friday, 10th March 2023,  the MBA Director, when asked about the drop-out rates of the LBS EMBA, said that the pass rates of students of previous cohorts were high and the drop-out rate was low (less than 3%)! If others could do it in the past, then I can.  My dream is therefore achievable I will not be part of the drop-out statistics.

I am now convinced that facing my fears, head-on, is important and I have more to gain from keeping a positive attitude toward the matters that worry me the most.

#EMBA28