You Get an “F”- And That’s a Good Thing
So, you tried something new and it was a massive fail. You are disappointed, your ego is bruised, and that bowl of ice cream is looking extra good right now. First of all- go for the ice cream because you only live once and if you don’t eat it, I will. Second of all- know that failure is okay.
Leverage Your Failure
So, you tried something new and it was a massive fail. You are disappointed, your ego is bruised, and that bowl of ice cream is looking extra good right now. First of all- go for the ice cream because you only live once and if you don’t eat it, I will. Second of all- know that failure is okay. If you haven’t heard by now, failure is the first stepping stone to success. Everyone fails and the smart ones learn from it, grow from it, and adjust their future actions to be able to achieve their goals. How can you leverage your failure to help you reach success?
1. Revisit your goals
If you are failing at your definition of success make sure your goals are SMART. Ask yourself, are they Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely? If they are lacking in a certain area, you will want to re-adjust.
2. Create a new plan
If you are not a fan of planning and details I am sorry to tell you, you will not love this next step. However, it’s crucial you have a roadmap so you know how you are going to achieve your goals. Don’t worry there are plenty of tools and techniques out there to help you lay out your plan- from a simple bullet journal to a project manager tool like Asana, there are options to fit your style. List out each step with due dates of each. You may find you have more or less necessary work in store than your original failed plan. Notice I didn’t use “hard” work. Hard work can be time-consuming and challenging but is it necessary to accomplish your goals? When creating your new plan, list out what actions (or lack of) you believe resulted in your original fail. How can you tweak that action to help you?
3. Phone a friend
For most people to be successful, it’s crucial to have a support network. Reach out to someone from your support network to keep you accountable (remember your SMART goals?) and on track, someone to vent your frustrations to, and someone who can see your problems from a different perspective. Need help on this step? Visit our events page and join our next network lunch.
4. Treat yourself
While it’s important to celebrate once you accomplish your overall goal, remember to celebrate the little success too! If you have 10 small steps to reach your goal, be proud of each and every step you took. After all, it was necessary work!
Remember-failure is okay and is a tool to help you learn and reach success!