Change Your Expectations About Failure

Growing up you may have been the star student or the good child.  It became your identity to prove your worth; that you were smart.  Evidence of getting an A grade would only strengthen your identity and confirm that perfect exists.  You were celebrated with “great job” and expected to continue the perfect streak.

Now, as an adult, you may be struggling with perfectionism because you’ve had this expectation for so long. Believing that everything should be perfect before you start a project or put yourself out there.  Often you say, “if I just did this, then I will be ready.” But once you do, you just find another reason why it’s just not quite perfect yet.  This way of thinking only keeps you stuck.  You’re expecting to have all the right answers and the full path mapped out in front of you before you begin.

The truth is, there is no perfect time.  And when you think about it, your definition of perfect may be different than my definition. So, who’s right?  Honestly, it doesn’t matter because either way, this way of thinking will only keep you stuck.

You must change your expectations.  Instead of expecting everything to go perfect because you put in so much time and effort, expect things to go wrong.  You’ll be more prepared for when things don’t go your way and ready for the worst case scenario.  Plus, you won’t be crushed with disappointment when failure occurs.

Change your expectations and realize that failure is not a bad thing.  The most successful people have had millions of failures.  Think about some of the most successful people you know. These people didn’t get to where they are without some major setbacks.  Successful people don’t expect everything to go perfectly.  They realize any mistakes are lessons to be learned for how it can be improved for next time.

Change your expectations by acknowledging failure is a part of the process.  It should not prevent you from taking action.  In fact, taking no action can leave you worse off because you’re not making any progress.  You’re letting life pass by without taking action to move forward.

Take action even if it’s in the wrong direction.  You’re still making progress.  Even if it may seem like you took two steps backwards, you’re still moving.  You’re learning and growing in the process.  Take what you’ve learned and with those two steps backward, you’ll usually move two giant leaps forward.

As a child you learned to walk by standing up, taking a few steps and falling down.  You didn’t stop there.  You got right back up and tried again.  Eventually mastering the art of walking, but not without many epic fails along the way.

The only way you will take your life to the next level is to try something new that you’ve never done before.  Don’t let fear keep you paralyzed in your current situation.  It’s up to you to take control and stop waiting for the perfect moment that will never arrive.  When you step outside your comfort zone your life will change.  Expect to fail and know that through failure comes success.