Why You Need to Lean Into Failure

Embracing your goals and priorities means taking action to execute those goals. A new goal requires research and planning to identify the steps to take. The research and planning, however, are not the action. They are the steps to inform the action.

Taking action is moving into the steps needed to see a goal come to fruition. Maybe your goal is a promotion, for example. Planning and research involve finding out what kinds of opportunities will add to your resume, talking with a mentor about your goal, and reading about interview techniques. Action is when you move into updating your resume, taking on additional duties that will build a skill set, and practicing interviewing. And ultimately applying for jobs. Sometimes the planning and research feel like action, but they are the precursor.

So why is moving from pre-action into action difficult?

Conducting research and planning feels like you are doing something, but the next step requires that you put yourself out there. You might take on a project and make mistakes. You might have someone review your resume and learn it is full of holes. Practicing an interview will show your weaknesses. Taking action opens you to failure, and knowing that is possible can create fear that stands in the way of taking the next first step.

Failing feels uncomfortable. It isn’t fun for anyone. But people who accept failure as a necessary part of life and learn from it are the ones that go on to the greatest successes in life. Failure is simply the First Attempt In Learning. If you never fail, you will never grow and improve. Seeking perfectionism to avoid failure is the greatest barrier to success.

When you let a fear of failure stop you from taking action, you are deciding to fail in advance. Take the promotion goal, for example. If you plan and research but never take action to update your resume, assume additional work responsibilities, or apply for a job, you will never get the promotion. Your fear of failing at getting the promotion prevents you from even trying, and the result is no promotion.

Viewing failure as a learning opportunity helps to shift your mindset away from the fear of failure to embrace failure. But when failure happens, it is hard to handle. Here are some tips that will help you keep your attitude positive and keep you moving towards your goal:

1. Find Your Gratitude—If you look, you will always find at least something positive. Gratitude, no matter how big or small, helps refocus on the positive.
2. What Goes Down Must Come Up—Change is inevitable, including changing from failure to success. While you may fail at first, you will eventually succeed.
3. Laugh it Off—Self-deprecation can be destructive but, you can use it as humor. Choose to use it wisely and add some levity to the situation.
4. Get Back on the Horse—Samuel Beckett famously said, “Try again. Fail Again. Fail Better.” Trying again means you might fail again, but each time you grow stronger and closer to your goal.
5. Learn Your Lessons—Evaluate why you failed and how you can improve for the next time. You rarely learn lessons from what went well, but you can always learn from a failure.

All failures are there to provide benefit and value in our lives. Staying mindful of these benefits requires effort, but the effort will have a far greater return on investment. The next first step is to seek these benefits and lean into the potential failure that accompanies action rather than getting sucked into the vortex of fear that will do nothing to help you reach your goals.