Have you ever heard of Atychiphobia? It's the technical term for the fear of failure. Atychiphobia is a chronic, intense fear of failure that approximately 5% of the population has been diagnosed with. However, other surveys say that nearly 1 in 3 Americans suffer from fear of failure. It's almost certainly one of the most popular reasons why people do not engage in fasting.
You're reading this article not because you're looking to bolster your rising fear of fasting but to see a way to overcome that fear. You're likely reading this because you're attracted to that title. Something in you resonates with a website on the lost art of fasting, and seeing that article title makes you say, "Well, I certainly have an underlying fear or failure attached to fasting," or "Yes, I've failed a fast or two in my time." Let's get you what you're looking for.
In his book Chase the Lion, Dr. Mark Batterson writes, " The cure for the fear of failure is not success. The cure for the fear of failure is failure in small enough doses that you build up an immunity to it." In other words, to grow in fasting, you need to manage failure.
Step one is removing the quit option. Go back to the article on that for more, and listen to Episode Two of the podcast.
Secondly, you must remove the word "fail" from your vocabulary, which is also spoken of in Episode Two.
Next, you must accept the reality that you will get off track. (Episode 5)
Now, here's how we apply Dr. Batterson's advice - create a plan for what you will do when you get off track. This is how you manage failure! You don't give in to failure. You don't quit when it doesn't go as planned. You plan for it and keep executing the plan! As we talk about in Episodes One and Four, the enemy of success is perfection! Because that's what failure is, not being perfect. And there is no such thing as a perfect fast.
Fear of failure doesn't have to cripple your fast. Now, if you have Atychiphobia, you need to do this and see a medical professional. But the good news is that most of us don't have this diagnosable fear! We have a version of it that we can manage and see victory over through our fast. Don't succumb to failure. Take hold of it, manage it well, then master it.
Reach out if you'd like us to coach you through it!
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