Week 314
Positive post Sunday, March 5, 2023- Week 314.
I don’t know about you, but I’m very competitive, and I don’t like to fail. Whether it’s a bike race, a game with the kids or an important project at work, I’m wired to seek success in all I do. You may have heard the saying, “failure is not in my vocabulary”.
Unfortunately, this mindset sets us up for a big fall when we do fail, and we all fail many times throughout our lives. So, although I will always be competitive and motivated to succeed, I have reintroduced failure into my vocabulary, focusing more deeply on what I can learn from the failures I have had, and will continue to experience in my life. I have embraced this saying from Dr. Prem Zagyasi, “The only real failure is failing to learn from failure”. As I seek understanding and wisdom from my failures, I will keep these words of St. Teresa of Avila in mind, “To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience”.
Eric Pfeiffer, in his book, “Leadership Gravitas”, also reinforces the value and importance of learning from our failures. He notes that personal responsibility and self- awareness, especially when we fail, are critical skills in being a successful leader. He suggests that “Perhaps the greatest power any human has is the power of choice”. To improve my skills and success as a leader at home and work, I choose to learn, especially from my failures. This reminds me of one of my own favorite quotes, “Once we stop learning, we may as well stop living”. The point being, we are all lifelong learners in one way or another. Let the learning continue!
How do you learn from your failures?
How do the learnings from your failures influence the choices you make?