Want to learn how to turn setbacks into success? To separate yourself from those who continue to fail, you need to have the ability to accept failure and learn from it. Failing forward is the best way to take advantage of new opportunities for success. At ActionCOACH, training people to be high achievers has taught us that anyone can learn to fail forward.
Don’t take the blame for all failures
Nobody fails because they aren’t good enough. You should aim to fight the urge to avoid taking all the blame, ultimately, this is crushing to your self-esteem. Instead, you should think through all the reasons as to why you may have failed and factor your role into your perspective. Usually, it’s those who don’t take things personally that overcome failure best, they don’t see themselves as failures but they see themselves as people who have failed.
When we work with clients, we make sure to point out that every success we are able to enjoy is due to the help of others. So, if we credit others for our success, why should we put the blame of failure only on ourselves? Although, it is important to note that you shouldn’t run away with letting yourself off the hook. Keep asking yourself what you may have done to increase the likelihood of success.
Take action
To reduce fear, you should take action. Once you realise you’ve failed at something, you may be reluctant to act on the issue until you can convince yourself there’s no chance that you can fail again. Obviously, it is impossible to remove all possibility of failure, which is why you end up in a limbo of no action. Free yourself by taking action, accept that you may fail again but also acknowledge that every failure offers you a new chance of learning.
Be sure to see failure as something that happened in the past. Take every day as a new day with opportunities for new successes.
Change and your world changes
If you find yourself failing in the same area, it’s possible that the problem lies with you and not the situation. Do you think you need to improve your skills? Is the team around you the right team to work with? It’s only when you understand your role in the failure and know what to do next when you finally profit from the experience itself. If you’re not able to answer these questions yourself, you may need to seek help from a business coach.
Top Tip: It’s not what happens to you that makes the changes. It’s what happens within you.
If you’re struggling to find where you’re going wrong, speak to ActionCOACH today.
