Interview Question: What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?
How to Answer The Interview Question: What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?
What is that thing that you would like to do if nothing could ever go wrong? If that second thought always whispering the negative thoughts ceased completely, what would you want to do? If the word failure was never in the dictionary, what would you like to accomplish? What are those things that fear of failure has kept you from doing? All these questions are asking the same thing. The fear of failure is one thing that makes a dream unachievable.
The fear of failure can be crippling. It takes away the zeal to move forward and achieve great things. An average individual would rather remain in his cocoon or comfort zone than put himself out there. He would rather let his ideas wither away than take the risk of putting them out there. That feeling that “ it won’t be good enough or I am not good enough” will always hang around in our minds. The fear or phobia for failing is called atychiphobia. This is typically when we let fear prevent us from doing things that will propel us to achieve our goals. It is humanly impossible to go through life without expressing some kind of downfall. Living life avoiding failure is as good as not living at all. You would never truly achieve anything.
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. Do not fear failure, what you should fear is not trying. The way you perceive failure is entirely up to you. You can choose to perceive failure as the end of the world or you can view it as the beginning from the end. There is always a new thing to learn when we fail. You can start by asking yourself why you failed in the first place? Where did it go wrong? Answering these questions will give you an idea of how to adjust or start again. It will save you from making the same mistakes again. It is necessary to bear in mind that there is always a chance that we might fail. Accepting that fact is not only a bold step but gives deep self-satisfaction. Fear of failure can make you reluctant to try new things or take up challenging projects, it can kill or lower your self-esteem or confidence, it will crown you the thorns of procrastination and lastly, you will spend your entire life trying to be perfect cause nothing will ever be good enough.
Why is the interviewer asking this question?
The interviewer probably wants to know all the great potential you have stored within, that fear has been preventing you from opening up. Be careful when answering this question the interviewer might want to gauge if you are a good fit for the company. The interviewer might want to know what you are cautious of and to determine if the lack of courage to do this thing will lead to potential problems If you are hired. This is a reverse question for what is your greatest fear. The interviewer knows that the candidate would probably formulate one lie or another to cover up. So the interviewer would rather ask an open positive question like this rather than the common “ what is your greatest fear question”. This is why it is advised to read up before going for interviews, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Tips to answering this question.
Whether this is an interview question or just a question you have personally asked yourself, the guide below will help you lay out a plan to overcome that fear today.
What you are afraid of
You can not overcome what you do not know. The first step is to identify what you are afraid of. If you are still in denial and find it difficult to face your fears, then you can take a more positive question. Ask yourself “ xxxx (name) what would I love to achieve if failure is not an option?” if failure never existed, what would I like to accomplish the most? If everything I set my mind on, seek, or desired came to life, what would be my number one request?. You would be surprised at what you will have on that paper when you are through jotting all you want to achieve down.
Enough is enough
Now that you have identified what you want to achieve, the next step is to let go of whatever is holding you back. If it is fear that you will not succeed that has been holding you back, you need to shake it off. But first, you have to accept the fact to you are stuck in a cocoon. You have to be tired of being in that cocoon. You need to yearn for things outside of your comfort zone. If you do not hunger for a change you will remain where you are.
Beat the fear of failure
The principle of physics will tell us that “ unless a force is exerted on an object that is at rest, it will never move from that position to another”. This is to say that if you do not exert pressure on yourself, there will be no change in your situation. You need to pull down the wall of fear clouding your judgment. You need to uproot the roots of fear preventing you from achieving great things or taking risks that can bring you good fortune. How do you break the chains of fear in your life? The best way to break free of the shackles of fear is to identify the cause of the fear. I am afraid to fly, why am I afraid to fly? Is it because I fell from a tree when I was little? What can I do to overcome this fear? I am afraid of socializing, why am I afraid of socializing? It is because I feel I am not good enough. What caused this low self-esteem? I was always reminded of my imperfections when I was little. What do I do to build my self-esteem? These should be questions that you ask yourself. Rearrange it to fit your situation and use it to find solutions. If you happen to be answering this for an interview, tailor your answer to a professional goal you want to achieve. Find a way to relate it to the job. Remember to not only identify the problem you wish to solve, give the interviewer a full explanation of how you intend to achieve those dreams of yours.
