Fear of failure

Good of you to send in this question. It’s difficult to read that you suffer from performance anxiety and that you notice that you procrastinate. I can imagine that this must be frustrating for you. The fear of failure and procrastination are closely linked. What we often see is that people with the fear of failure make excuses to avoid starting a task. Because, if you don’t start it, you feel like you are preventing yourself from failing. But by putting off the task it will not get you any further and may lead to guilt for doing something else. Super annoying!

I would like to think along with you and I have put together some tips for you:

1. Make it manageable for yourself -> it is an overwhelming idea to know that you have to finish an entire thesis. A thesis consists of different parts and phases. For instance, there is the exploratory phase where you search for literature, and so you have other parts like the introduction, method etc. I don’t know at what stage you are at the moment, but break it down for yourself. For example, agree with yourself that you will start by writing a paragraph or that you will look at a particular part of your thesis. Break the task down into small sub-tasks. Each sub-task is one task away and will bring you closer to the ultimate goal. 
2. Our brain prefers rewards that are immediate. Unfortunately, writing a thesis is a long process and is not written overnight. We avoid it because we don’t see immediate results. To counter this, you can reward yourself every time you complete a part of your work. Some enjoy eating a bit of chocolate, others watch an episode of their favourite series. Try to reward yourself when you achieve small successes, for example when you have managed to rewrite a paragraph or when you got data into SPSS.
3. Know that your thesis supervisor is there for a reason. He/she is there to support and help you. Asking for help can be difficult, but it’s okay, you don’t have to do it alone.
4. Make a schedule for yourself where you set aside time every day to work on your thesis and also build in time to do things and give you energy. Writing a thesis takes a lot of energy and it is important to do things that give you energy. Reward yourself with a nice walk in the woods for example. A tip is to stay active, this way you produce happiness hormones and this works well against stress. If you are physically active, you feel more resilient, have more focus and cope with stress.
5. Our thoughts determine how we feel. Thinking badly about yourself often results in feeling gloomy and anxious. Feeling this way often makes us behave in unhelpful ways like postponing our work. This procrastination has negative consequences and in the long run even more negative thoughts will arise. Play around with allowing helping thoughts. A helping thought might be: I have reached this point in my academic career that I get to write my thesis. I have made it this far which means I am definitely capable of doing well. By allowing helpful thoughts, you will find that other feelings will also roll out. 

Hopefully, the tips above will help you. Should you notice that your symptoms are getting worse or that you have no one to discuss this with, I want you to know that you don’t have to do it alone. You can, for example, contact your GP. They can direct you towards the right support.