It it often been said that failure is apart of success and that if you want to succeed then you must be prepared to fail.
Any successful person will honestly admit that failure happens and we’ve all had our fair share of it. The great thing about failure though is that you can always learn something valuable from it that will help you succeed.
That learning will determine whether your failure ends up being permanent or just a stepping stone to success.
So why do we fail and how can you fix it?
According to Shiv Khera, author of You Can Win, failures most often occur for one of 7 reasons. Below are the 7 reasons and my tips to fix them.
The 7 Reasons Why We Fail
1. Lack of Persistence
Most people fail simply because of a lack of persistence. It’s not because they lack the knowledge or ability but because they give up too soon.
Make a real decision and commit to what you really want and then try new approaches until you get there. Whilst persistence is important doing the same thing over and over will not get you closer to you goal.
Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before inventing the light bulb but he never saw it that way. He kept changing his approach and making small adjustments until he reached his goal.
“If I not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” – Thomas Edison
Get back to the basics of trial and error. Don’t be afraid to try and fail, make mistakes or errors because you can only truly fail when you give up trying.
2. Lack of Conviction
People who lack conviction take the middle of the road. But what happens in the middle of the road? You get run over.
If you do not 100 percent believe in what you’re doing or doubt your capability to achieve your goal then you’re not going to do whatever it takes to get it. You’re going to make half-hearted attempts that will never really be enough.
A lack of conviction will sap you of your motivation and you’ll soon find yourself doing mediocre things just to fit it with the rest of the people who are also lacking conviction to go after what they really want.
Decide what is important to you and sell yourself on all the reasons why its important. Also sell yourself on all the reasons why you can achieve it. Your ability to execute an idea will be based on how sold you are on the idea and you ability to achieve it.
3. Rationalization
Winners might analyze but only losers rationalize. Winners focus on learning why they got a certain result so that they can change their approach whilst losers give out every excuse from the book as to why they can’t succeed.
Change your perspective. Don’t think of every unsuccessful attempt as a failure. The truth is that few people succeed at everything the first time. Most of us attain our dreams only through repeated effort.
That’s not the sexy formula for success so that’s never what you’re sold but more often than not the people who succeed are those that take numerous attempts to find something that works.
Do your best to learn everything you can about what happened and why so that you can take an alternative approach that will take you closer towards your goal.
4. Dismissal of Past Mistakes
Some people live and learn, and some only live. Failure is a teacher if we have the right attitude.
Wise people not only acknowledge their mistakes but also learn from their mistakes—experience is the name they give to slipups.
Define the problem better. Analyze the situation—what you want to achieve, what your strategy is, why it didn’t work. Are you really viewing the problem correctly?
For example if you need money, you have more options than increasing revenue. You could also cut expenses. Think about what you’re really trying to do.
5. Lack of Discipline
Anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile has never done it without discipline. Discipline takes self-control, sacrifice and avoiding distractions and temptations. It means staying focused.
Get clear on exactly what your goals are and commit to them 100%. Create a detailed plan of how exactly you will achieve your goals.
If you can break down your plan into daily achievable action items you’ll not only have greater clarity but you will also find it easier to stay on track. When you can get visual feedback on your progress that will provide you with the motivation to remain focused and keep going.
6. Poor Self-Esteem
Poor self-esteem is a lack of self-respect and self-worth. People with low self-confidence are constantly trying to find themselves rather than creating the person they want to be.
Don’t dwell on the past. I know its easy and sometimes comforting to feel sorry for yourself and think about all the things you shoulda woulda coulda done but none of that will help you succeed in the future. It’s only going to make you feel worse.
Instead do something good for yourself and take one definite action today that will help you get to where you want to go.
Also don’t label yourself. You might have failed up til now and your life might not be everything you imagined it would be but you’re not a failure until you stop trying.
7. Fatalistic Attitude
A fatalistic attitude prevents people from accepting responsibility for their position in life. They attribute success and failure to happenstance. They resign themselves to their fate, regardless of their efforts, that whatever has to happen will happen anyway.
Look in the mirror every day and say, I am in charge. The moment you accept full responsibility for everything in your life (and yes, I mean EVERYTHING) is the moment you empower yourself to start making changes.
You might not be able to control everything, but you can control a lot more than you actually realize. You are blessed with the ability to control your own thoughts and with that your actions.
Ultimately you are responsible for your own happiness and success and the sooner you get that the sooner you can start experiencing increased happiness and success.
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou
