Success is Going From Failure to Failure without loss of Enthusiasm

Sir Winston Churchill's saying inspires today’s email,

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." 

Oh my goodness, that made me laugh.  I’m tempted to suggest that Churchill’s daily pint of champagne might have helped but having not tried that method, I’m not eligible to comment!

I love the sentiment he gives us: 

• Brush it off

• Onwards and upwards

• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

And do it with enthusiasm!  No shame!

And yet, for the most part, most people look at failure with dread and negativity.  And fear of failure seems to hold us back and stop us in our tracks. 

So why do we fear failure?  Ooh, let me count the ways:

1. It’s a natural part of trying to survive.  If you are out in the wild (sadly, even if you aren’t), making mistakes can be deadly.  So it’s a basic instinct to protect ourselves. 

2. We’ve been socially conditioned to value success and avoid mistakes.  Gold star or naughty step at primary school - which did you want or want to avoid?

3. Most of us have an inner critic who is very judgmental and demands that we be perfect to feel worthy. Failure is not an option. 

4. Failing can be physically and mentally painful—flushes of embarrassment, ‘egg on your face’, humiliation, shame.

 It’s not cool, basically... OR IS IT?

If we follow Churchill’s philosophy, then I think failure is just something that happens and will happen again and again, and it’s just part of life. 

There is no shame, embarrassment, gold star or naughty step to sit on if it doesn’t work.    

If it’s met with enthusiasm, then failure is expected, and the negative feelings that can result just don’t happen.  

How can you berate yourself or feel humiliated if you are feeling enthusiastic? 

 So how can you feel enthusiastic despite failure?

1. Get Curious - What have you learned? What did you find out? What does this mean for the next step?

2. Progress, Not Perfection - How have you progressed?  Focus on progress, not perfection. 

3. Build Resilience - Remember, every time you get knocked down is an opportunity to get up and, in so doing, build resilience 

4. Twisty Bend - See it as a twisty bend on a long journey and you’ve navigated many before this and the road turned out to be very interesting! 

5. Reframe - Reframe failure as an experiment or trying something new, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work out or you don’t like it.  Move on!

So, smile, gird your loins and let’s plough onwards and upwards with enthusiasm!

Take care

Tracy