” I didn’t fail 1000 times, the lightbulb was an invention with 1000 steps.” ~ Thomas Edison
We all experience failure and none of us seem to like it. But if we’re not cautious, the very failure that we experience, can be used to continue to keep us complacent, thereby preventing us from achieving our goals. Therefore, it is important for us to figure out ways to learn from failure, so that we can be the best versions of ourselves. After all, everything happens for a reason.
Here are ways to learn from your mistakes:
Acknowledge Your Errors.
This can be hard for the stubborn person who wants to blame other people for their mistakes. If someone else is responsible for where you failed, you will never be able to take accountability for yourself. You cannot fix something, that you are not willing to accept responsibility for. Admitting that there is a problem, is the first step to moving in the right direction. And this isn’t important, no matter how difficult a challenge it is.
Ask Yourself Tough Questions.
This is hard because, well, it’s tough. It’s easier to just live life in the comfort zone. By not renting out to think about things that are challenging and uncomfortable. But this is often why we make the mistakes that causes to fail. Not until we are willing to go to a place that feels bad, and really look at where we went wrong along all of these dynamics, will we reach the opportunity to grow.
Make A Plan.
One of my favorite quotes is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is because, you need some form of blueprint to follow in order to achieve your goals. Whether it’s a business plan, a vision board, or just a plain old list, it’s important to have something tangible that you can reflect on as you are trying to achieve your goals. First, and foremost, research frequently indicates that if you can see something, you can achieve it. It is for this reason, that it is important to have things that are written or visible that you can reflect on throughout the process of trying to achieve whatever goals you are attempting.
Identify Your Why.
If you were trying to achieve something, but for the wrong reasons, this is just as bad as not trying to achieve something at all. It’s important to understand why you’re trying to be successful. For instance, if you were trying to run a business to make a lot of money, that might not give you the same outcome as if you are trying to run a business that will serve a lot of people, which will in return give you a lot of money. Do you understand the differences? It is important to know why you were doing something so that you can constantly fall back on why you are doing what you are doing. When you remember to stay in your purpose, and your purpose is aligned with what you are doing, your chances for success increase. Most dreams fail, because people lose sight of their purpose. Stay focused and persevere, no matter how difficult things get.
Failure gets the best of all of us. But the reality of it is, everyone fails at something. I’ve had my own fear of failure and setbacks and some of it has been life-altering. But if you just stay focused, and keep on going, you’ll want to get the answer to your dreams. But you have to keep going and learn from what did not work along the process.
If your failure is holding you back, our therapist can support you. Contact us today to schedule your free 15 minute consultation.
