Afraid of failure?

Did not get into an Ivy League school? You failed. Shame on you.

Our education system conditions us to fear failure. Low grade, failing a class, falling behind your peers, not getting into a "prestigious" college - all of these carry a high stigma. With our teachers, our friends and our parents.

So much so that in the race to not fail, we work hard to pass exams and miss out on actually learning new things, understanding things, making up our own minds, gaining confidence in ourselves.

But failing is part of making new things.

How do we overcome this conditioning?

My 2 cents: recognize this conditioning. Recognize that you are doing something unique that others are not willing to do. You have the courage to do a risky thing, they don't. Reject their power to shame. Sing your own song.

Any ideas? How do we not let fear of failure paralyze us?