Redefining Failure: How to Thrive and Grow
Hi everyone! Life Coach Carisa here. I want to talk about a big word in our lives: failure.
From a young age, we are taught to avoid failure at all costs. But here’s the truth: we must experience failure to understand what is right and wrong for us. Failure provides us with valuable lessons and data. The higher tolerance you can build for failure, the more resilient you will become.
Failure is very much a story we create in our minds. It’s the biggest reason we don’t access our full potential because we are too afraid of failing. When you are afraid, you stop creating results. If you are willing to fail, you will learn.
Imagine never failing. You would never know your limits. Remember, failure is just a feeling; it cannot harm you. Change your meaning and relationship with failure. Until you decide to make it painful, it is just data. Let it be hard. You will get stronger and develop more resilience to handle what life can throw at you.
Failure is the Path to Success
A small percentage of attempts may succeed, but a large percentage may not. Allow space for not knowing how to do something. You only know how to do something the minute you’ve done it, not a minute sooner.
Watch out for staying in confusion; it lets you avoid failure. Once you start failing a lot, you start winning. Believe me when I tell you that the people who failed the most made the biggest contributions.
Examples of Persistence Through Failure
- Milton Hershey faced several failed businesses before founding the Hershey Company, revolutionizing the chocolate industry.
- Sylvester Stallone struggled as an actor and writer before finding success with “Rocky.”
- Fred Smith faced challenges with FedEx before it became a global logistics powerhouse.
- Mary Kay Ash started her own business after facing gender discrimination, empowering women through Mary Kay Inc.
- James Dyson created over 5,000 failed prototypes before founding Dyson Ltd.
- Sara Blakely faced numerous rejections before founding Spanx.
These individuals were just like us when they were feeling like failures but kept being willing to fail and keep trying.
Personal Growth Through Failure
Let me bring this closer to home. As a parent, I was taking action and failing. In my relationships, I was failing. The failures were signals that something wasn’t right. When we become comfortable with those signals, there will be less drama, pain, and suffering as we navigate our lives.
You get to decide what you make each failure mean. This builds our trial-and-error muscle, serving us in many ways. Think about changing your lifestyle or up-leveling your health. What do you make every setback mean? Getting okay with losses or failures allows us to build resilience.
So, ask yourself: what does your current relationship with failure look like? What would you like it to evolve into? How could improving your view and relationship with failure open up possibilities in your life?
I challenge you to transform your view of failure and your relationship with it. Embrace it as a stepping stone to success and growth.
For more insights and tips on changing your view of failure, watch the full video here.
Thank you for reading! If you’re curious about my work, schedule a complimentary consultation session. Find out more at LifeCoachingwithCarisa.com.
“There is no such thing as failure, only learning experiences.”
Jillian Michaels