Whatever “success” means to you…building an empire, quitting your toxic job, starting a family, or living a life of freedom and flexibility…one thing I know about success is that it’s a verb.
It’s a daily choice
It’s intentional action
And it’s a conscious decision
…to show up for your dreams every. single. day.
But so often people never reach their version of success because their fear of failure (or fear of success) is so real. They self-sabotage, they make excuses, they stay stuck in over-analysis because the fear of failure is keeping them from taking any real action.
So what separates those that can make any dream a reality vs those that sit on the sidelines wishing they “shoulda coulda woulda”?? The answer…
They make a habit of FAILING.
So here’s a fun fact about me:
I used to be a competitive figure skater, training and performing at a high level…but in order to get there, I fell/failed….A LOT.
In fact, the only way to land any new jumps (like my triple lutz) was to hurl my body into the air and fall many MANY times until I built muscle memory to understand how to move my body to land safely on the ice.
Failure was seen as the PROCESS by which you practice success.
If you observe any top athlete, you only see the final result….the win, the trophy, the glory.
But what you don’t see is all the hours of grueling practice, the failures, the injuries, the setbacks, the mental ups and downs. Behind every great athlete is a list of failures. But they kept going because the end result was worth it to them to move through the temporary failure.
So WHY is it that so many of us expect to be “perfect” and successful right away when we aim towards our dreams?
This is what I tell all my clients, “Make failure a part of the process”…build up a tolerance for it so that you feel braver each time, build the “muscle memory” of what NOT to do, and develop inner resilience that is 100% required if you truly care about making your dream a reality.
Or, in some cases, your failures will open up a new pathway you never considered before.
You might protest and say “but I don’t want to fail, this is too important”.
And I’d challenge you to give me one instance in your life that you tried something you cared about for the first time and it was perfect right away. Riding a bike? Playing a sport? Did you make a few mistakes along the way? Did you fail first before getting better? Of course you did! (we all do)
Because failure is always there to help you…it doesn’t need to be a dirty word, avoided at all costs.
Listen, I’m not saying that you need to fail on purpose (you still have to try your best)…but I am saying that failures can accelerate your success.
And if failure is the means by which you speed towards your dreams, why not jump in?
Thought exercise:
If you’re hesitating, asking yourself…”if I know I’m failing on my way upwards, what bold next step would I take to move me closer to my vision?”
One final consideration (and this is important)….sometimes we don’t move into action mode because we don’t have the clarity on WHY this pain/failure/rejection will be worth it in the long run.
In essence, the payoff has to be greater than the mistakes and temporary failures…which is why your connection to your inner WHY is essential to begin moving forward.
If you’re struggling to get clear on your next steps, join the “Clarify Your Path” to connect to your inner why and confidently move forward.
