How to deal with failure and how to win instead!

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Lars Schroeder, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.

What is ‘failure’ and how to set yourself up for the small wins in your day?

Failure is a bitch, isn’t it? Failure is always in our minds and it is reasoned by fear. Fear of losing, fear of being disliked, fear of losing friends and family, fear of not having stuck to your word and feeling ashamed. Whatever it is, the thoughts of failure surround us at least once a day.

I want to tell you a little secret. It is okay to fear failure, it is okay to be afraid and it certainly is okay to make mistakes. I personally believe it is absolutely necessary to make mistakes in order to grow and learn. Without mistakes, we would not even learn half as much in any given circumstance or situation and we all would not be able to walk, speak or ride a bike if we gave up after a few minor mistakes. Failure, on the other hand, does not exist as long as you learn and move forward. Failure sets in when you decide to stop moving for good. When you decide not to speak a word because of a few words you mispronounced or decided not to walk anymore because you stumbled twice. Let’s be honest, doesn’t that sound funny and stupid? Right! And it is no different with the small mistakes and learning experiences in your everyday life.

Jim Rohn once said ’Failure is a few errors in judgment repeated every day’. Now, that right there does not sound so funny and stupid, does it? It seems to make sense if we think about it and at the same time, it gives us the recipe to learn, grow and become better.

The recipe goes as follows:

Pick one error in judgment every day. Maybe making the neighbor responsible for your shitty day or grumpiness and now turn it around. ‘Easier said than done, you fool’ you might be thinking right now, are you? Ask yourself ‘What else could I do instead of wasting my time with a bad mood and insulting my neighbor?’
Well, I believe you could do a ton of things some more fun than others. How about reading a book or taking a walk with your dog (without your dog if you don’t have one), etc. There are more than enough things in our lives to focus on. Start today to focus on the things that are fun. It won’t cost and it surely won’t hurt.

And if you want to take it a step further and get serious about it then follow this small and simple exercise.

Write down 1 error in judgment that you want to change because you noticed it doesn’t help or make you happy at all. 
Then write down what you will do instead to lift your mood and earn a sense of responsibility for your own actions.
Now simply do that every single day for the next 21 days.

We’re done here, what are you waiting for?

Lars