“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Confucius
When I woke up today, I wasn’t feeling great and, at first, I couldn’t figure out why.
While recalling my week, what I discovered is that I had a few client meetings with a web design client and they said that they’d get back to me. Though it has only been a day, I haven’t heard back and for some reason, this affected me and it didn’t feel good…
What I wanted to share here is that I need to reflect and figure out why I was feeling that way. This situation, as it turns out, had subconsciously changed the way I’m feeling physically. I wanted to change the way I feel, so I decided to get up and go for a quick walk by the beach.
The ‘funny’ thing is that during my walk I ran into somebody who I knew. I haven’t seen them in a very long time and once we got to talking, they asked me to do for a website for a friend – I ended up getting a new client!
This was great, of course, but the more important point that I’m trying to point across is that we shouldn’t be affected by outside circumstances. Cause it really doesn’t matter what happens outside of us.
It’s not easy to do this but if you train yourself to feel good because you want to, you’ll also change your circumstances and your life will be different.
Another effective habit I have to make myself feel good is that I always look for what I’m grateful for. This helps me to not be affected by the outside circumstances. It’s definitely not easy but I can vouch that it’s worth it.
Secondly, I always try to fail forward fast. For example, like me, maybe you made a pitch to a potential client and they didn’t end up sign up, don’t get stuck. Getting stuck only slows you down.
Instead, choose to accept it, keep moving or be persistent. If you do this, you’ll be able to get what you’re after in the end.
You can always choose to be the main character in your life story. There’s no need to be a victim of circumstances.
Be the hero of your own story and the key is to fail forward fast.
Failing forward fast means being aware (and accepting) of the possibility that failure is inevitable. You’re aware of the risks that comes with your endeavours. You’re aware of your weaknesses, imperfections, limitations and the obstacles that’ll face – but you press forward anyway.
Here’s the thing that most people don’t get – Every failure gets you closer to success.
Read More: Learning How to Embrace the Struggles to Success
By this token, if you don’t fail in life, you’ll never succeed as if you never fail it means that you’re not trying. In school, they taught us that failure isn’t a good thing, however, it’s a different story in real life .
Failure is necessary. We’re in the age of self-help. But I’ve noticed that in our culture, we’ve made the mistake of associating the term “self-help” with guilt, punishment, and regret when in reality, it’s about self-empowerment.
The whole point of self-help is to help you become the best version of yourself. Think of it this way; if you’re not failing, then you’re not living. So when you look at this way, the idea of “failure” is not all that scary. You can’t fail if you’re living your life like you’re the star of your own movie.
We all have movie stars or people in the public eye who we admire. But the truth is, the only movie that matters is the one that’s playing in your head. And that means that you can be the star of your own movie.
You get to decide the plot, the setting, the costumes, the soundtrack and the cast. You get to decide how things end. You get to decide what it’s about. You get to decide if you’re fighting or dancing. YOU get to decide who YOU are.
So what are you going to do? Are you going continue to sit on the sideline or are you going to rise and become the hero of your life?
You have the opportunity to live your life as if you are the hero of your own movie. But it’s hard to be the star of your own movie because you have to take responsibility for what happens to you and you need to be accountable for your results. This can be scary – like really scary. But the rewards are huge.
Read More: Owning Up to Our Truth: Taking Responsibility for Our Lives
In addition, taking responsibility of your life sets you free. There’s no one to blame, no person, no circumstance … You’re in control. You’re in the driver’s seat.
In a movie, the hero doesn’t give up. They always keep going.
It’d be as if it’s the end of the world and yet they’ll always find a way to prevail. There may be scenes where it appears that there’s simply no way out – but they don’t give up. They may fall but they always get up. They move from one thing to the next till they reach the desired outcome. I invite you to do the same with your life!
And like a hero in a movie, you don’t need to go through it alone. You can call on the help of your loved ones, a coach and or a therapist to help you on your journey. Like the African proverb says “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together…”
I’m interested in what you think, let me know of your thoughts in the comments!
Read More: 30 Mindsets That Can Change Your Life: A Practical Guide to Implementing Positive Change
This post was contributed by Joseph Hass. A Self-Help Guide/Web Architect, he can help you upgrade communication with yourself and others to create win-win situations. Learn more about Joseph & what he does at AskJosephHass.com
