“Failure runs parallel to letting your guard down.” – Eric Longenhagen & Kiley McDaniel, Future Value
No matter how hard you try to prevent it, failure will happen in your life. It’s an unavoidable part of being human, especially when you have your guard down. Sometimes you think it’s safe to relax and let your guard down, but that’s exactly when you need to be on high alert and ready to deal with whatever comes your way.
In the age of social media, there seems to be an unwritten rule that we must always put our best foot forward. Our feeds are chock-full of only positive moments in time, as if to say that it’s okay to fail when no one else is around to see it—that failure is not an option, because we don’t really fail unless other people know about it. This may be true, but that doesn’t mean failing isn’t an inevitable part of life and the human experience.
We all have those moments when we stop paying attention to our surroundings and take the proverbial foot off the gas pedal of our routine, allowing ourselves to get comfortable in our daily lives. While letting your guard down might seem like an easy way to allow yourself to unwind and recharge, it actually presents many more perils than simply being caught off guard by something you didn’t see coming. When you start believing that you are invincible, failure becomes inevitable because you cease to prepare yourself properly, so here are some of the most important reasons why failure will always be inevitable when you let your guard down.
Many people are so scared to fail that they don’t even start. If you wait until everything is perfect before acting, then you will never succeed at anything. It may seem prudent to keep your confidence level high by giving up after your first attempt ends in failure. But, your chances of success aren’t much higher if you give up after one try.
There are some ways to mitigate your failures, though. First, set reasonable expectations for your progress. This includes not expecting everything to turn out perfectly on your first try. Second, you need to have a plan for learning from failure; either, have a plan B, or have a process to learn from your failure if something doesn’t work out as planned. When you do fail, it’s best to have the mindset of considering yourself lucky, because now you know how not to do something.
The opposite of success is not failure, it’s mediocrity. There’s the old saying that success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration, although those percentages are quite exaggerated. It’s truer that mediocrity has these same margins. That’s because on its own, 99% perspiration gets you nowhere. Putting in long hours and working hard doesn’t mean much if you don’t work smart, too.
We all experience failure at some point in our lives. Everyone who’s ever tried something worth doing has also failed to do it at least a few times. So, if you’re not failing, then you’re probably not trying to do anything remarkable.
Failure is inevitable, and in fact, it’s a necessary part of success. As Thomas Edison, who invented light bulbs and recorded sound on plastic discs once famously said: “I have not failed10,000 times. I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” By embracing your failures and keeping them in perspective, you can use those experiences to fuel positive changes without getting bogged down by self-defeating regret.
It’s also very important to realize that many failures are completely outside of our control. These include life’s little aggravations such as getting caught in traffic and being late to work. It could also be professional, financial or relational. Whatever it is, regardless of how big or small, failure has a way of showing up sooner or later.
Therefore, fear of failure is irrational. This fear which can hold you back from success is based on two common misconceptions people have about failure. First, many people believe they don’t want to fail, and second, they think they can avoid failure altogether. The first misconception assumes that failing is a bad thing and should therefore be avoided at all costs. The second misconception simply reinforces the first by forcing yourself to play it safe, which leads to letting your guard down. Giving into these two bad ideas instead leaves you with the worst kind of failure: failing to do anything worthwhile because you end up fearing opportunities instead of embracing them.
Fear affects everyone, regardless of where they’re at in life. It’s natural to live in a constant state of worrying about what could happen. This mindset can have a devastating effect on us both mentally and physically. What you should do instead is enjoy life as it comes and act when opportunities arise. Overcoming fear of failure all starts with letting go, then moving forward with your goals despite any obstacles that arise.
Be honest with yourself and look at each indicator that follows to see if they apply to you or your business. At one point or another we have all been guilty of at least one trait that has led to complete failure. The important thing is recognizing where you are currently at so that you can take corrective action now, rather than later when it might be too late. If a majority of these traits apply to your current situation, then fail fast and take steps immediately for improvement before it’s too late.
The biggest reason we often give in to failure is that we believe it’s often a result of one or more personal shortcomings. Sometimes, our failures can be the result of simply not giving enough effort. But, perhaps the biggest key to learning from failure is recognizing which ideas are doomed to fail; some things always will work better in theory than in practice. Those that don’t want to risk failure should make sure they understand why others have failed, then learn what they can do differently to avoid those same missteps.
However, it’s much better to embrace your failures. Be honest with yourself and recognize when the idea needs to be reworked or when you yourself need the reworking. The hard truth is that when we allow failure to loom over you like a bad omen, you fail to make progress in your life simply because the very fear keeps you from chasing down new opportunities. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by the fear of failure, because then you’ll let your guard down and fail simply by not trying. That’s right: the worst failure is simply not trying.
~ Amelia Desertsong
