Last Updated on April 3, 2023 by Shane Corbitt
Think back to a time when you had a difficult decision to make. You had to choose between two or more things. Whenever this happens, there’s usually a safe and simple choice. Then you have other choices with varying degrees of risks and rewards. How do you choose?
It’s quite natural to entertain thoughts of repercussions here. What are the results going to be if you fail? What will they be if you only succeed a little bit or if you’re a wild success?
You don’t have to ask yourself these questions consciously. Your psychological construction means you’re always processing possible outcomes. The emotions, benefits, rewards, and risks of our decisions are constantly being computed when faced with a difficult decision.
Unfortunately, a fear of failure has a loud voice for many of us.
You Can Trump the Fear of Failure with the Mere Exposure Effect
How do you feel when you arrive home after a long time away? Maybe you took a vacation or went on a business trip. Even if the time away was positive and enjoyable, you begin positively embracing returning home.
This is true even if your home isn’t exactly the Ritz. Why is this familiar but not necessarily wonderful place comforting? What is it that makes you yearn to return there? What’s happening is due to the Mere Exposure Effect.
It means that mere exposure to something over and over causes you to accept it. You can even develop a likeness and affinity for something you experience repetitively, whether it’s good for you or not.
You can use this automatic human response to your experiences to improve your mental toughness. Rather than letting a fear of failure keep you from making difficult decisions that could provide wonderful rewards, you flex your mental muscles.
Change Your Exposures and Your Experiences
Maybe you’re thinking about moving to another city. This is a big deal because it means uprooting your entire family. That inner critic begins doing what it does best, telling you how many ways you can fail if you make this decision. You can win the battle of wills by changing your experiences and what you are exposed to.
Talk to people who live in that city. Find people that will love living there. Perform web searches for “10 great things about ____” where you fill in the blank with the city’s name. Watch videos of the city sponsored by the department of tourism.
Flood your senses with positive experiences about moving to that new location.
When your exposure to moving is overloaded with positive possibilities, it’s easier to make the tough decision and call a moving company. This is a proven way to boost your willpower when you’re finding it difficult to practice mental toughness.
