“Success is not final, failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill
Raise your hand if you’ve ever dropped the ball and messed up something that was important to you! You already know that I’m with you! Lol, I’ve done it many times and in most cases, I’ve been able to glean valuable lessons from the experience. Although having failure as a teacher can be embarrassing, it’s an opportunity for you to graduate and evolve so that you’re better prepared for your next season in life.
Over the last few months, I’ve walked through some exciting life changes and made some huge leaps of faith (I’ll share all the details in another post). Did I enjoy the entire ride? *Smh* Nope! Would I change anything about it? Yes!
My initial response was optimism with a strong belief that I am ready! After hearing some comments from a few people around me I got distracted and began to feel discouraged. I knew that what I was experiencing was an incredible blessing and an invitation to fully live life on purpose, but my attitude changed. I began to focus on what was going on around me instead of what was happening FOR me. Did you catch that? There is a huge difference.
When I focused on what was going on around me and how I thought others perceived me I got distracted. I lost my vision and adapted others limited perspective. This only led to me feeling discouraged. However, when I re-evaluated my focus and examined why I felt this way, especially when I strongly believed it was a life-changing opportunity I had to let go of what others thought and follow the path that I worked hard to create and that I knew God laid out for me.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again,
this time more intelligently.”
– Henry Ford
This eye-opening experience has been better than any personal development book I’ve read. Some days I would dance out of bed ready to crush every minute and kill 5 major projects in a day (I think I’m superwoman when I’m on cloud 10). Other days I would roll out of bed with a smile on my face and a bruised heart, looking for something to remind me of my purpose. All in all I’ve learned so many valuable lessons, but here are 3 key takeaways. You ready? Let’s go!
1. Long-Term Vision
Failure might make you feel like you’ve hit a wall or a really high mountain that might kill you if you try to climb it, but here’s the truth. It’s examination time!
- What – What are you doing here? What valuable lesson can you learn from this experience? Do you want to continue in this direction? What do you want to be true about your life 1 year from today? What do you need to adjust in your life to get to where you want to be?
- Where – Check-in with yourself. Where are you right now (emotionally and mentally)? Process your current thoughts and feelings and then create a plan to get to where you want to be by next month. Do you want to be excited about life again? Do you want to be less stressed and feel more fulfilled? Do you want to be around people that challenge you? What do you want to feel every day?
- Why – Why are you here (examine the role you played in why you failed)? Don’t overthink or over analyze this step. Just write the first ideas that come to mind. Do you want to continue in this direction or change directions? Why or why not?
- When – When will you put your new plans into action? How much time will it take for you to start seeing results? Get specific, create a timeline.
- Who – Who do you want to be 1 year from today? What do you need to do to become that person? Is there anyone you can work with to help you navigate through this change? Are there any mentors or coaches you want to work with?
- How – How did you end up here? How will you adjust your direction to align with where you want to end up next year? Do you need to develop your skills? Is there someone you can train with?
These powerful questions will help you to sober up and take charge of your next season. You are responsible for the outcome of your life. If you don’t like where you’re headed change directions. If you want to continue but feel you’ve hit a roadblock, get creative and figure out how to proceed. You may have to create a new lane.
2. Self-Awareness
Failure reveals your hidden capabilities. You’re unaware of what you don’t know about yourself until you’re faced with a challenge. Here’s an example you may not know that you’re a creative writer until you’ve hit a dead end, start journaling to release your thoughts and then suddenly realize that you enjoy it and you have a gift for writing. You could start painting and then begin to notice over time that most of your work has a clean finish and you have an eye for design and putting colors together. It’s unbelievable what you will discover about yourself when you have to figure out creative solutions to problems you’re facing.
“Challenges make you wiser, stronger, and more capable. Don’t quit.”
– Tee Forever
3. New goals
As you evaluate your overall life vision and discover new interest you will begin to set new concise goals and this my friend is where life begins! You were made for more than the common, every day, ordinary endeavors. Your life was meant to be lived on purpose. Sometimes you’re on the right path and failure comes to strengthen your skills, knowledge, and so on. Like a fire under your butt forcing you to push yourself. Other times you might be falling asleep, headed in the wrong directions and failure comes to wake you up and say “Hey! You’re going in the wrong direction!” either way, failure is a gift from God. When you fail, set new goals.
Failure is always an invitation to something greater. Always. It’s a tool to build you up, to bring out the best in you and to challenge you to think more critically. Lol, if we’re honest, most of us don’t want to fail because it doesn’t feel like a promotion, but always remember this secret. If you stay the course, fight for your goals, and push yourself to achieve new heights, failure will become your best friend. It’s a tool you will always have in your box of life resources. Until next time, xoxo!
Theresa Forever
