If you do not Fail, you are not Trying Hard Enough
Unless, of course, you aren’t trying at all.
I know, just last week I wrote about “Why I Don’t Believe in Failure”. I stand by that statement and the perspective behind it. That when something doesn’t work, or go as we had hoped, or doesn’t lead to instant success, it is NOT a failure. Unless you throw in the towel. If you give up on your dream, well, then perhaps it is a failure. After I posted that I received the following comment:
“. . . positive affirmation type messages are actually just a form of rationalization – A bad habit of not facing reality head-on. I see feelings as mostly petty and self-absorbed. How I feel doesn’t matter.”
True, “feelings” don’t matter. But dude, you missed my point. Ask yourself this – “why do people fail?” Is it because they are lying to themselves and not facing the reality of their situation? That may play a part for some. Or, is it possible that they are not taking 100% responsibility for everything that is within their control, and not trying hard enough? By saying “I don’t believe in failure”, I am not advocating for lying to yourself. I believe in softening the blow by knowing it is not an end, but a pointer. You must embrace it, study it, and learn from it. Then correct. That is how we learn. It is difficult to duplicate success without reviewing the “failures” that pointed us in the right direction along the way.
But if you don’t have those moments when a plan falls through and you have to switch things up, I say you are simply not trying hard enough.
I am sure most of you have seen the graphic at the top of this post. The hard truth is that in order to be wildly successful you will go through times that are not quite so glamorous. The road to success is paved with characteristics and challenges such as:
Dedication, hard work, discipline, disappointment, sacrifice, failure, persistence
I see two ways to push through to success.
Enjoy the journey.
Live every day for the excitement and challenge of the moment. If it is drudgery for you, how will you ever endure? Chunk up the big dreams into smaller, boulder-sized goals. Then break up those boulder goals into rock-sized tasks, and make those goals. Break them down even further one more level to pebbles that are each easily achievable. Celebrate your victories and have fun with it.
Never give up.
Look for opportunity in disappointment and failure. Obviously, wildly successful people never gave up, even though many if not most went through very difficult times. They see the fruit of dedication and discipline. Because they are 100% committed to their success they are able to sacrifice in the short term and put in dedication to the hard work that is necessary to reach their dream.
As an example, I was confronted with a significant challenge that for a short time had me concerned that a business I was starting was sure to fail – even before it got off the ground. I was sure I saw a door closing. Disappointed, I dedicated some time to research all the possible options available to me even though none of them seemed like viable solutions. But during that research, I happened across a new and relatively unknown product that had recently been produced. It took some digging and I had to place an order directly from a producer in China as it was not available from anyone in the US. I had discovered a solution. It did require a change to my plan, but it was quite a good solution and I was thrilled that another door had been opened up to me.
But that solution and step toward ultimate success came after a disappointment and setback. And it was only revealed to me after going through some due-diligence, hard work, and persistence. Though I was initially disappointed, I remained positive and figured I would either find a solution or start something new.
To ask a rhetorical question, are you failing? If you answered with a “no”, I say you are either not looking closely enough or you aren’t trying hard enough. And if “yes” are you studying them, and learning from those failures? Or are you trying to ignore them and plodding on doing the same things and expecting different results?
Take failure in stride, gracefully. Use it to your advantage to learn and improve.
Reset. Refocus. Go and DO.
