Podcast Episode 218 - 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Stay Stuck - #3 Failure Isn’t an Option
/Listen
Read
How do you feel about failure?
Do you embrace failure, fear it or loathe it entirely?
Is “failure is not an option” your war cry?
We’re continuing our series on 10 Sure Fire Ways to Stay Stuck, and it’s time to tackle failure. Why? Because if you’re attempting to do anything great, living your life of significance, and embracing your God-given purpose, you’re going to come head-to-head with this bad boy. What’s your plan when you do?
Today is for you if…
If you’re tired of failure holding you’re face to the ground, pressuring you to cry “uncle.”
If you desire to push past life’s failures and make something of yourself.
If you’re ready to welcome the enemy and discover the freedom that comes with it.
In this series, we’ve tackled two sure-fire ways to stay stuck…#1 Stop learning and #2 Stay in your comfort zone. Today, it’s time to come face-to-face with the inevitable…failure.
#3 Sure-Fire Way to Stay Stuck – Failure Isn’t an Option
The idea of never failing can drive us to strive for excellence, but it can be a double-edged sword that causes a fear of failure and stops us from trying new things. It can also reduce our chances of success and affect our mental health.
Is there another way to look at failure?
Yes, we can welcome it as a way to succeed.
Sure-Fire Way to Succeed – Welcome Failure
Yes, really! Failure is not only okay; it’s vital to your growth and learning process.
If we embrace it as a learning opportunity and view it with curiosity, we can gain valuable knowledge and progress faster than we could without failure.
I used to view failure as the enemy of my soul and a source of embarrassment; I’m still working on loving failure, but now I don’t fear it as much.
So let’s talk about five reasons why you shouldn’t fear failure but welcome it:
1. Failure Provides Valuable Feedback
When we fail or make mistakes, we learn what not to do and gain feedback on how to do things differently. This feedback is valuable in helping us better understand ourselves and our environment.
When my first marriage ended, I saw a note from my former husband that told the counselor, “Heather is manipulative.” That opened my eyes after I got over being mad that I had horrible self-esteem, was hiding my true self and was deathly afraid of conflict. This allowed me to grow and strip off the part of myself that wasn’t serving me. That’s allowed me to have an incredible marriage with my husband, Bob.
2. Failure Highlights Areas That Need Improvement
By embracing failures, you can identify areas where you need to improve, learn new skills or gain more experience to continue personal growth.
I had a failed offer recently that didn’t go as I planned, which allowed me to see I didn’t have the audience base yet for this particular offer. I mentally assented to that fact before, but failure highlighted where I needed to focus my attention. Now I can make the necessary adjustments to set myself up for success.
3. Failure Boosts Resilience
Failure can improve our resilience when we welcome it with open arms. You realize you’re okay even though you failed…like it didn’t kill you.
Now failure can strengthen your character and mental toughness for the next opportunity.
4. Failure Leads to Innovation
Failure opens the door to new and innovative ideas, which wouldn’t have been discovered without the lessons learned from experience.
3M Sticky Notes came out of a failed glue
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was fired from his own company and then hired back when they were months from bankruptcy. He then brought us what we know now as the iMac, iPod, iPad, and iPhone, which all changed their industries.
And my favorite, Walt Disney.
A newspaper fired Walt in his early twenties for “not being creative enough.” His first animation studio went bankrupt in two years. He made a hit with Oswald the Rabbit only to lose the right to him.
But, on Walt’s train ride home from his negotiations gone wrong, he came up with another idea for a cartoon and retained the rights to this time…you know him as Mickey Mouse.
5. Failure is Part of the Learning Process
Learning requires humility and the ability to learn from our failures and mistakes. If you embrace failures, it provides opportunities to expand your knowledge, skills and relationships.
1 Peter 5:5 and James 4:6 NKJV
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
If you’re proud, you won’t be open to learning from your failures. You’ll most likely lean toward hiding them.
Failures aren’t a measure of who you are or your worthiness; instead, it is simply a natural process of growth and development.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Accept that mistakes and failures are a natural and necessary part of growth and provide valuable learning experiences.
Embracing and learning from failures will make you stronger, more resilient, and more likely to achieve greater success in the future. Accept failures as lessons to guide you toward more significant growth and success.