Is nothing going your way? Feel like a failure? Take a step back and breathe because here is a different way to look at things when you are presented with a mistake or failure.
Everyone loves to go out and have a good time, now there are the times where you have one too many shots of tequila and lose the shoes and say some things that should have stayed in or maybe just bust out the good ole tears. Mistakes are inevitable but what you do with them is the success.
Everyone has made mistakes in their lives but that shouldn’t determine their lives. Every successful person I have met in my life has slipped up at some point in their lives. The key is to step back and learn from the process. Being bull headed and thinking that you have the power to change yourself overnight won’t happen.
Now I don’t know if you have made some serious mistakes according to law or just in your own mind but they are only mistakes if you don’t learn from them.
Letting your mistakes define you is one of the dumbest things I see these days. Why would you let a decision you made in the wrong state of mind determine who you are?
Take a step back and look at what lead up to that decision or action. As I once heard the best success comes from humility. Finding the lesson in the humility is going to be a difficult task and most likely the finger will be pointed right back at you.
With your future endeavors, there should be a few rules you follow along the way. Guiding you in the right direction. Waking up each morning with nothing set in stone will only allow you to veer off in the wrong direction and put your goals off for the day.
- Making a schedule and putting together a plan from beginning to end. Did you set your goals too high? How much time did you put into your plan? Did you anticipate failures/obstacles along the way? If so, did you have a plan to get through these obstacles? We all envision the success and talk about what we are going to do once we get that phat paycheck but never the points along the way where there is a possibility of failure. Sit down every morning and look at what you have to accomplish for the day or week and truly look at the points where an obstacle could present itself. If it doesn’t happen, all the better.
- Failing to prepare is preparing for failure. Having a plan is great but, having multiple plans is where success comes full circle. How many times have you started a diet on Monday after spending all day Sunday researching and psyching yourself up only to have the same food in the kitchen as the last six months? You didn’t prepare! Now you have to spend the whole day figuring everything out and adding more stress to your day, which in turn will only lead to failure. Put all the building blocks in place so you have every chance to succeed and have the possibility of an alternative plan.
- Consistency in your execution. Did you put the same effort as your most successful day? Just because you had a good day or a few good ones doesn’t mean you get to step back and enjoy the rewards. Look at what you did that day and see how you can improve on it. It applies to anything and everything, for instance, every day I write at a minimum of 500 words. If I only ever write 500 words then I will only see the benefits from the minimum.
- Learn to control the things that are in your control. It is not easy to grasp and ever harder to actually execute. If your sales are down or clients are dropping off even though you are trying harder than ever in your mind. Is there more you can do? HELL YA! You could take some classes to improve your sales or find a mentor to guide you in the right direction. Work on your relationship with your clients, understand them and what they truly want out of your relationship. Expand your knowledge and be willing to share it with those around you, making them better and yourself along the way.
Be motivated and determined no matter the slip ups along the way. Define your own success and take a leap of faith with it. Giving up on your dreams is the equivalent of suicide. Push through the rough spots, do your research and learn from your failures. Walt Disney is a prime example of this.
I’ll leave you with a couple thoughts on failure:
- Did you let the struggles get the best of you or did you see them as an opportunity to grow
- Did you put in the time to learn from your mistakes/failures
- Get knocked down and Get up again
Embrace Failure & Stay Safe