Failure

• “I can’t do that, I tried and failed.”
• "I've been downsized or demoted.  I'm such a failure."
• “There’s no way I could recover from such a failure.”
• “My marriage failed, I’ll never be happy.”
• “Instead of working out today, I had a hamburger, I’m such a failure!”

What would you say if a good friend said these things to you?  If you’re like me, you’d probably want to give them a swift kick in the behind and tell them that they’re better than that!

But how often have you found yourself saying or feeling similar feelings?

We fear failure.  It stings, true.  But what would we achieve if we never faced that fear?  Would we be able to walk?  Talk? Do anything? 

Think about a baby taking his first steps.  He holds onto his parent’s hands and clumsily tries to manoeuvre that leg forward, then the next, then he lets go.  And falls.  Imagine if the baby decided then and there:  “Well, so much for that, I tried the whole walking thing and failed.  I guess walking just isn't for me.”

But no, that baby hasn't yet learned that kind of negative attitude, we haven’t taught him yet.  He just gives out a little cry to see if it’ll generate some attention, and then tries again, and falls, again, and again, and again.  Next thing you know the little bugger’s running around the house and has climbed on top of the fridge.  Something he had no idea that even existed, let alone be able to achieve.

We have infinite potential.  We are only limited by our own fears and insecurities.  Yes, it is true that we all have our limitations and we must take those into consideration.  But never allow them to convince you that you cannot achieve your dreams.  No one would ever expect a one-legged man to run across the country, but Terry Fox proved them all wrong.

If you take a moment and think about it, there are miracles all around us.  There are people who are overcoming tremendous obstacles to achieve their goals. 

What is their secret? Faith, pure and simple, faith. 

Faith in what they believe in, faith in themselves, and faith in their support teams.

They truly believe that they can, and added to that, there is an absence of negative self talk, rather there is a positive attitude.

Let’s revise our statements from above, but from the perspective of someone with such a positive mind-set:

• “I may have failed last time, but I learned from it, and this time’s different!”
• "I've been downsized or demoted. Here's my chance to start something new!"
• “There’s no way I’m going to let such a failure stop me!”
• “My marriage failed, but I've learned so much about myself and what I want out of life.  I know that one day, I’ll be happy.”
• “Instead of working out today, I had a hamburger.  Boy, was it good!  Tomorrow, I’ll work out and skip the burger.  I won’t let myself fall into a rut.”

I know.  I know.  When you’re in the situation, and the emotions are overflowing, it’s really, REALLY hard to keep up a positive attitude.  But the more often you do something, the easier it gets, and soon it becomes a habit.

Make a habit of overcoming your limitations.  Make a habit of being positive.  Make a habit of winning!

Have you ever done something and said afterwards:  “WOW! I had no idea I could do that!”  That’s because you didn't convince yourself that you can’t.  Share your story in the comments below, we’d love to hear them!