Live Better – Live Longer – Live Happier

Failure is a Perception

Webmaster | August 15, 2010 | no comments

Have you ever held back on doing something because you were afraid of failure? And it is not really surprising that most people have. The truth is; no one likes to fail. No one likes to feel like they are ineffective, inadequate, or lacking in any way, and that’s exactly how failure makes people feel.

However, you may be surprised to know that failure doesn’t exist – until YOU say it does. The dictionary defines failure several ways: 1) a failing to do or perform 2) a state of inability to perform a normal function adequately 3) a fracturing or giving way under stress 4) a lack of success.

Examine those definitions carefully and you’ll probably recognize that they all have one thing in common when it comes to goal achievement: failure is a PERCEPTION.

If you believe you have failed, then you have. If you believe you don’t have the ability to succeed, then you don’t. If you believe you can’t handle the pressure of achieving your goals, you can’t. If you believe you’re not successful, you aren’t. Failure only exists in your own mind! The moment you decide to give up or stop working toward your goals and ACCEPT your perception as fact, failure is born.

But what if you never do that? What if you continue working toward your goals, one step at a time for as long as it takes? What if you choose to overcome every obstacle presented to you and maintain your efforts toward your goals? There is no failure then, is there?

This insight should be very encouraging if you’ve been working toward goals and not yet seeing positive results. Simply keep going and you cannot fail! Persistence will always overcome limitations.

Here are three tips to help you remain strong and focused on achieving your goals:

Never give yourself an easy out. Most people do this without even realizing it. They are willing to work hard on achieving their goals, until the going gets too rough or their motivation dwindles. Don’t do that to yourself! Firmly commit yourself to making your goals happen, no matter what! Never quit, never contemplate admitting failure, and never lose your inner determination.
Don’t get hooked on a specific timeframe for completion. It’s okay to set a general timeline, but be aware that some circumstances will be beyond your control, so you can’t say for sure when your goal will be achieved. If you do that, you’re just setting yourself up for failure! Instead, get a general idea of when you’d like your goal to be completed, but then take it a day at a time and focus on making progress, not reaching the finish line in as little time as possible.
Finally, be sure that you don’t view obstacles and setbacks as failures. The two are completely different. An obstacle, setback, or delay means only one thing: it’s not time for your goal to be completed yet. That’s it! It doesn’t mean you failed; it doesn’t mean you’re weak; it doesn’t mean you’ll never achieve your goals. It simply means you’re not done yet. You’ve got to keep moving forward and find a way around or through the obstacle.

Always look at your goals as a puzzle with many pieces; achieving your goals is like finishing the puzzle – it takes many pieces put together in just the right order to see the big picture.