Are You Looking At Failure The Wrong Way?

Over the years I've had many goals that I've successfully accomplished and some that I was unable to accomplish. I've learned a lot from successes, but I've also learned a lot from my failures and there is something I'd like to share with you.

You see, there is a mentality that is usually associated with failure and if you learn how to change this mentality then you will never fail ever again.

Now you're probably thinking, "Who does this guy think he is telling me that if I change my mentality I will never fail again, how would he know that?" Well, if you change the way you view failure then you won't be able to fail anymore because, perception is reality.

If you change your definition of failure then you can control your ability to succeed and fail at achieving your goals.

So for example, if you decide that you will keep taking action towards your goal no matter what the outcome, then how can you fail?

If you went to a basketball court and shot 100 jump shots and made 5 did you fail or succeed at taking 100 jump shots?

Well, it depends what you call failure. If you decide that you will take 100 jump shots and you only make 5 jump shots, you didn't fail, because you took 100 jump shots(which is exactly what you said you would do). The amount of jump shots you make doesn't matter as much as the amount of jump shots you took because your goal was to take 100 shots and that is exactly what you did.

Now, there is another way to look at it. You can say that you took 100 jump shots, but you only made 5, therefore you failed, because 5 out of 100 jump shots is a bad percentage.

Assuming that you focused on every shot and gave it your best effort, you actually didn't fail because you did your best and despite the fact that you didn't shoot a great percentage, you still took 100 jump shots. So, in this case, you're actually successful. You would be considered a failure if you let your percentage stop you from taking 100 more jump shots.

I hope you see what I'm saying here. Some people can look at this example and understand exactly what I'm saying and others may have to read it a couple times, but making this mindset shift will lead to a more positive outlook on what failure really looks like.

If you want a simpler version or a summary of this whole article, then here it is.

Focus on taking action and don't worry too much about the outcome. Don't beat yourself up when things don't go your way. The important thing is that you continue taking action and don't give up. If you're working towards getting something that you really want then don't let the word "no" or any other external factors stop you from achieving your goal.

If you want to be successful, you need to take action, whether it feels comfortable or not. Eventually, you will adapt to the situation and things will become more natural, but for now, just continue to take action and success will always be waiting for you around the corner.