There Is No Such Thing As Failure

Why do so many of us hesitate to start a new project, business, or relationship?

Perhaps it’s because we have a subconscious fear of failure…

Fear of failure is supported by an illusion that it’s possible to fail, and that failing then means that we’re worthless.

When we were young and in school, we were taught that if you fail you stay behind a grade. If you got the dreaded “D”, “E” or God forbid an “F” on a paper or in a class, you were shamed by your peers, teacher, school and most likely your parents. Those you looked up to were disappointed in you. You were responsible for their disappointment. You failed.

This conditioning is one of the main reasons many of us stay comfortable and don’t face our ‘edge’.

We play it safe – we keep the steady job or stay in the unsatisfactory relationship. This ultimately leads to stress as we’re not living up to our full potential…we’re just floating through life without really living.

To add to this, not only do we have this subconscious belief system that we were conditioned with as kids, but we also may have some of life’s bruises from our past experiences.

Perhaps a divorce or failed business has created a negative mindset based on a less-than desired outcome of our original dreams or expectations.

Ironically, without trying and failing, we would never achieve anything. If you have a bump (or more) in the road, you aren’t a failure, you are merely human, just like the rest of us.

We all need to learn to fail. Fail should stand for “First Attempt At Learning”.

Without failure, we won’t succeed at any venture, relationship or in any area of our life.

“There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.” Tony Robbins

I remember years ago I started a new boutique yoga and meditation studio. I put hours and hours of work into it, and ultimately a couple of months later my mom was diagnosed with a terminal illness. This was devastating news and I had no time or focus to apply to this new venture, so the studio just crawled along. Finally, I decided to transfer the ownership of the studio to our yoga instructor who had always dreamed of opening a yoga studio.

At the time I felt like I had failed, however when I reflect and look back now, it was one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had.

It gave me a new direction, a fresh perspective and made me realize I’d never really wanted to own a yoga studio in the first place; I really only wanted to teach or coach. That’s what I’m doing now – and it feels so right versus all the pushing and struggling I had to do to open the yoga and meditation studio.

Henry Ford’s first two automobile companies failed. What he learned from his failures led him to be the first to apply assembly line manufacturing to the production of affordable automobiles in the world.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan

“Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” Barack Obama

When Thomas Edison was seeking to invent the electric light bulb, he had thousands of failures. He would record the results, make adjustments and try again. It took him approximately 10,000 experiments to invent the perfect set-up for the electric light bulb. Once an assistant asked him why he persisted after so many failures. Edison responded by saying he had not failed once. He had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work. There was no such thing as a failure in Edison’s mind.

Look at the life of Abraham Lincoln:

* 1831 – Lost his job
* 1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
* 1833 – Failed in business
* 1834 – Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success)
* 1835 – Sweetheart died
* 1836 – Had nervous breakdown
* 1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
* 1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
* 1846 – Elected to Congress (success)
* 1848 – Lost re-nomination
* 1849 – Rejected for land officer position
* 1854 – Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
* 1856 – Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
* 1858 – Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate
* 1860 – Abraham Lincoln Elected President (success)

When we try new things, it also leads us closer to your life’s true purpose. When you live with purpose you will feel joy, happiness, presence, creativity and vitality.

It’s time to start realizing that everything you do is a success or if not a success, it’s an amazing learning experience.

Take the time now to look at what you’ve learned from some of your past experiences.

What did you learn? How did you grow? What direction did it take you in? Where are you now that you wouldn’t be if you hadn’t had that experience? Realize that this is what has shaped you into the person you now are and you’re ready to move forward in a new direction!

Failure is not trying, not listening to what you know you should be doing, not putting yourself in a good state.

So move forward in the direction of your dreams – be a kid again, dream big, find your passion, your purpose and do what you love. Remember – not trying is the real failure. Go for it. Follow your heart.