I am not quite sure when or where it happened, but at some point during each of our childhoods, we made a mistake and we were told to never do it again. So like good children we avoided doing that one thing in hopes of staying out of trouble, so there in lies the instance when we associate mistakes with failure, and as a result fear making mistakes because we don’t want to fail. This is the beginning of one of the biggest challenges we will face throughout our lives. Learning that mistakes are how we learn, and failure is how we succeed.

 

Every great success came just after a major fail. There are massive lessons in the losses, and just like we say that you will never know if you never try, we must also add this one to the list. You will never succeed if you never fail.

 

Yet there is so much fear over failing that we play it safe, walk the line and, and keep ourselves tucked up safe in our comfort zone. Not only do we hold ourselves back in these instances but we also put a delay on our purpose and ultimately rob the world of our gifts.

So let me just say this. Please, I beg of you. Do not let your failures talk you out of your future!! Let your failures fuel your future. I know it sounds counter intuitive, and it goes against everything you were ever told, but imagine what your life would be like if you actually embraced all the failures. When you fail to appreciate the failures you experience along the way your dream automatically depreciates.

 

So many times I see people give up because they didn’t succeed the first time. I see people walk away from big dreams and goals, because they see failure as a lack of progress. I see so many throw in the towel because their failures lead them to believe that what they are working on or working toward isn’t for them. Don’t be that person. Do not allow your failures to talk you out of your future.

 

The future version of you is hoping you make the right mistakes, and fail at just the right moments so that you can be lead right to her. The future version of you is counting on you to make the mistakes and learn the lessons that are going to contribute to the person she is.

 

So the next time you fail, instead of giving up, and creating some story that you’re not THAT good, or not ready or not meant for great things, I want you to ask yourself three simple questions:

 

1. What did I learn from this? 
2. What changes will I make because of this information? 
3. How does what happened serve me?

 

These three questions help us go from this happened to me, to this happened FOR me, and that single mindset shift changes everything. You will start to value failure and as a result add more value to the success. 

 

Failing Forward Always, 

AG