Most people fear failure – so much so that they let that fear stop them from ever pursuing challenging goals. If I could have learned one concept earlier in life it would have been to never fear failure. Instead, use it as a data point on a long journey full of wins and losses.
Every quarter I set personal and career goals and every quarter I fail to accomplish all of them.
Every single quarter.
It certainly is frustrating at times to not accomplish my goals, but there is another way to look at it as well.
When I fail, I fail forward.
I might not reach the marker I was reaching for, but I am always closer to it than I was before. Framing things in this light allows me to continue pushing forward.
Did you have a goal to make it the gym 3x per week, but only made it 2x per week?
That’s ok, you’re still coming in 2x per week, which is more than before. You failed forward.
Regardless of your goal, focus on the progress you have made and modify your approach instead of abandoning the goal because you didn’t get there on your first try.
