If your dreams often feature themes of failure or missed opportunities, instead of focusing on what is wrong with your life, try to lay more emphasis on what is right whilst ridding yourself of the negative ‘glass half empty’ perspective on life. Losing a race in your dream, especially if you were pipped at the post, indicates the frustration and sometimes humiliation of realizing the limits of your potential. [1]
Such dreams may stem from childhood fears of punishment / withdrawal of love and reflect a continuing self-programming for failure-anxiety.
If so, you need to distinguish two kinds of perfectionism: first, the sort that causes constant striving for unrealistic goals - this is a neurotic form of perfectionism; and secondly, aiming at being true to yourself, with a readiness to respond positively to inner promptings towards a fuller embodiment of your ideal self, but also with a readiness to accept and love yourself as you are. Your standards, like your clothes, should fit you.
Above all, do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed and crippled by past failures. Instead, stay in the present, and don’t accept a continual reiteration of ‘can’t5 from yourself: ‘can’t5 usually means ‘won’t5, and Svon’t5 comes from something in your unconscious that needs to be brought into your consciousness (See also: Childhood Recollections, sections(1) and (2)). [2]
The others were way ahead of me jumping the fences. I couldn’t catch up, and one fence I came to grew to a huge height and was like a steel barrier. I couldn’t get over it and felt a failure’ (Ron S). Ron had not done well at school, had not taken any particular training, had no steady relationship or children. In his late 20s, Ron looked at his friends, married with families and steady jobs, and felt a failure. From the dream he realised he was viewing life as a competitive race to succeed. This was stopping him from following his real interest, psychotherapy, which his family viewed as playing games. He could ride his horse into the fields and explore. He did, by going to Amenca, training, raising a family.
In general, failure indicates comparison; competitiveness; it sometimes depicts alternatives—failure is the alternative to success. So the failure might be ‘because’.
See also: Is there a because factor in the dream? in dream processing; falling. [3]
To dream that he fails in his suit, signifies that he only needs more masterfulness and energy in his daring, as he has already the love and esteem of his sweetheart.
(Contrary dreams are those in which the dreamer suffers fear, and not injury.) For a young woman to dream that her life is going to be a failure, denotes that she is not applying her opportunities to good advantage.
For a business man to dream that he has made a failure, forebodes loss and bad management, which should be corrected, or failure threatens to materialize in earnest. [4]
2- The fear of failure is an almost universal fear, and to dream of failure may give us the opportunity to face that fear in an acceptable way.
3- Depression or spiritual frustration.
The failure we may feel at the hands of a greater power. [5]
An attempt to prepare mentally for a challenge ahead.
Judging or labelling yourself negatively, or feeling or imagining others doing so.
Judging someone or something as a failure can represent a judgment of that person or yourself (providing an opportunity to work through your underlying issue).
In the past, this dream had opposite meaning: it predicted success. Similarly, success in dreams predicted failure. [7]
To dream of failure in a business means you are letting fear cloud all your dealings and must change this or suffer a real loss in revenue.
A woman who dreams of failing in love will if she does not change some of the things she has been doing and become more self reliable. [8]
2. Anxiety over project or dilemma.
3. Review plans and activities for potential problems.
4. Feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. [11]
Stick to it, you’ll succeed. [15]
being a: wil realize high ambitions with common sense, not over-perfectionism.
enemies: wil be stricken with muscular affliction.
husband: your lack of good judgment makes you unfitted to fil your position.
others: postponement of success through present discouraging news.
relatives: reverses with speedy recovery and lessons to be learned. [17]