Push, Pull, Shove, Trip, Fall on Your Face and Get Up!
The title says it all doesn’t it?
Despite what you’ve heard, falling on your face in complete failure is an option and in some rare cases, it’s the best option. It’s not fun, I know. In fact it’s one of the most un-fun experiences to be had. So how can it be a good thing?
Fear of failure has the ability to stop you dead in your tracks. If that’s the case for you, failure can actually free you. The more times you fail, the less scary it becomes. When failure is no longer the big, scary monster and instead becomes the wise sage, magical things will happen. Learning how to gracefully fail will release you from stuck-ness and guide you to a better way doing things. And, now that you’ve failed and lived to tell about it, you can let go of the fear of failure and MOVE ON!
Falling Gracefully and Graciously:
A few years ago, I decided to give snowboarding a try. There are two things I learned:
- Beside the snow, it’s absolutely nothing like skiing
- You must learn to fall well to survive
I’ve never fallen so much in my life as I did my first day snowboarding. In order to save my wrists, elbows, and knees, I had to learn to roll with the falls (quite literally). It was when I resisted the fall, and try and brace myself that I get hurt the most. Day one for me on the snowboard more resembled rolling down the mountain than boarding, but I kept getting back up. In fact, I pushed myself up so many times, my triceps were actually sore for two days.
It all changed once I got over the fear of falling, and that’s when it became fun. How far could I go this time before my next face plant? After falling a few times, the fear started to dissipate. After a few more times, I no longer held back because of the fear. It was at that moment when I was finally free to give it all I have, learn and improve. By the end of the day I made it the the entire run without falling.
Same goes for you in your business. By facing your fear of failure, even embracing failure, you will be free to give it your best shot, learn from your mistakes and move past procrastination!
