Nobody likes to fail.
Nobody wants to feel like a failure.
In fact, some of us go to great lengths to not make mistakes. Sometimes, it feels like it’s better to not even try than to take a chance and mess up.
But here’s the thing. Effort is about failing.
Think about it this way: we often say that people who tried really hard were able to find a way to persevere and overcome obstacles.
In other words, they hit a setback – they failed, they made a mistake, or something didn’t go their way – but they found a way to pick themselves up, overcome the obstacle and keep going.
SEOT is an acronym to help us get past mistakes. The E stands for effort.
(Psst, teachers – check out this 2021 New Year’s Resolution lesson plan!)
SEOT Step to Success #6 is to MAKE MISTAKES and FAIL
In fact, think of failing like challenges in a videogame.
FIRST FAIL CHALLENGE:
The first failing challenge is to see if you can fail 3 times.
I’m not talking about failing on purpose or failing because you didn’t really try. That doesn’t count. This is about actually trying, but still failing or having things not work out the way you wanted to.
Getting things wrong is discouraging. But the more we mess up, the more opportunities we have to learn about what doesn’t work. Or what doesn’t work, yet.
It’s easy to try once and then give up. Set a goal and try 3 different ways to get there.
Once you give it your all for 3 tries, then you can give up. You’ve mastered the first fail challenge.
SECOND FAIL CHALLENGE:
The second fail challenge is to see if you can fail 5 times.
This is for people who mastered the art of failing 3 times. It’s hard to really try and still fail.
It’s hard to pick yourself up once you fall, but the more you learn to keep going, the easier it gets. Success is around the corner. See if you can fail 5 times.
THIRD FAIL CHALLENGE:
The third fail challenge is to see if you can fail 10 times.
If you’ve made it this far, you’re doing some serious learning.
Keep track of what’s not working. Write down why you think the first plans failed and then change the plan. What tweaks could you make? Don’t give up! See if you can fail 10 times.
FOURTH FAIL CHALLENGE:
The 4th failing challenge is to see if you can fail 26 times.
Failing 26 times seems like an odd choice, but it’s because there are 26 letters in the English alphabet.
Start with Plan A and then try Plan B and then keep going until Plan Z. I bet you succeed before you fail 26 times.
ULTIMATE FAIL CHALLENGE:
Finally, the fifth and ultimate failing challenge is to see if you can fail 1000 times.
Thomas Edison invented a new battery after trying several thousand ways that didn’t work.
Each time you fail, you learn another way that won’t work. Each step brings you closer to victory! Failing a thousand times is for epic dreams.
Okay. Think about your goal.
How many times have you failed so far in trying to achieve your dream?
Too many, I know. Normally we think of failure as a bad thing, but this time, let’s flip that around and see it as a measure of progress.
Which failing challenge are you up to?
Good luck and don’t forget to check out our Goal Setting Slideshow!
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