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Having the courage to fail and how to expand your mindset on your path to success!
Hello, my fellow complexities! (bare with me, I’m trying something new here…haha)
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I can write this week that could really provide value.
I’ve mentioned a few times now on this blog that I’m on a journey of finding ways to live my life in a more fulfilling way and ultimately improve myself and my family’s circumstances in pretty much all the positive ways you can think of!
This blog is only one way that I’ve been attempting to take action toward my goals, but it’s interesting how once you decide to make a change, certain things start presenting themselves to you in different ways.
One of the things that was presented to me was an online course I decided to jump into on a whim, a 15-day challenge that I wasn’t entirely sure about but has since provided me with a TON of value.
Sure, I am still working through it, as I have only completed four days, but the value alone JUST in the way of information has been priceless.
This information has mainly been about shifting your mindset, facing failure without letting it crush you, and just an overall theme towards self-improvement that I’ve found so refreshing – especially since it hasn’t been CRINGEY!
Now, I’ll share my experience with this course (and the specifics about it, if anyone wants to know) after I finish, but for now let’s just say it gave me the idea to create this article because it’s something present in my mind and life RIGHT NOW that is providing value, and maybe some of my thoughts can in turn provide value to some of you.
The Pursuit Of Happiness & Having The Courage To Fail
In the pursuit of success and fulfillment, it seems a lot of us find ourselves faced at one point or another with an endless amount of setbacks, challenges, and uncertainty.
Whatever it is we’re striving towards, it’s pretty typical to run into one roadblock or another, and the road to success is rarely linear (if ever) nor is it predictable.
I, for one, have found this to be true!
I know I’m not the only one who has attempted or is attempting to carve out a meaningful life filled with purpose and fulfillment.
Someone who wants to embrace courage and expand my mindset, but I have many instances in my past where I tried something new, was faced with something challenging, and gave up.
This is common. So many people I know personally, or have read about, etc. have given up on something if it ended up being more difficult than they expected. Often, it almost seems like this point of giving up happens right before the intended destination is met! Crazy, right?
The biggest thing I feel people don’t ever grasp is the exact clarity on what the destination IS or looks like, or they put all of their efforts into this end goal, but don’t think about what comes next – so when they do achieve it, they find themselves no longer having something to strive for, so they don’t end up feeling that fulfillment they had hoped for.
In my observance through everything I’ve been learning personally as well as people I have witnessed through this learning or in my own life, there’s seemed to be this common theme. Failure is not only bad, it’s scary.
Have you ever really thought that maybe, it isn’t?
I want to explore this concept of embracing failure instead of being afraid of it, and to see how it can actually be a transformative power that can be a massive catalyst for growth, resilience, and ultimately, success – IF we let it.
5 Important Things To Implement On Any Path Towards Success – In Whatever Success Means To You.
#1 Embrace a Growth Mindset
The biggest lesson I feel presenting itself to me lately is the importance of expanding my mindset – and finding a way to let go of my ego, and allow myself to go back to the basics of some fundamental concepts in my life.
I’ve never wanted to have a fixed mindset in general, but it’s insane how much we really get set in our ways – especially with our beliefs and ideas.
It’s these beliefs and ideas that are “stuck with us” that are so hard to change, but if you, like me, have found yourself unhappy with how your life is at one point or another, then the ability to have a growth mindset is crucial.
A growth mindset can be developed through dedication, effort, and perseverance. But if something is a core belief, as in it’s in our subconscious mind and not our conscious, then it can be incredibly hard to change. Unless…we use repetition.
Repetition is an incredible tool, if not one of the only tools, we can use to rewire our subconscious mindsets.
I heard this week that an affirmation on a sticky note is more of a suggestion, but if we don’t actively say the things we want to have in our life OUT LOUD and REPETITIVELY, then we may never actually have our subconscious pick up on the change we’re trying to implement.
Check out: Positive Words Of Affirmation | 21 Affirmations To Increase Self-Esteem, Worth & Confidence
It kind of blew my mind, because I totally believe in the power of affirmations, but it makes sense that the ones I’ve personally said over and over and over for days, weeks, months, or longer (ahem, repetitively) are where I saw an actual change. Any that I didn’t, or would just have laying around on a sticky note but didn’t actually repeat consistently, well – those never really manifested in my life. Huh…
You don’t say?
#2 Rethink Failure | It‘s a Stepping Stone to Success
Another consistent theme that has been showing up in my learning lately is the idea of failure, and how it’s such a scary thing.
I am amazed at how much I’ve learned in just a few days on how our society has almost set up our belief that failure IS a bad thing.
And that we should avoid it at all costs.
Now, I’ve heard a few times over my life, that it’s through failure that success is found.*GASP* But I never really had that click in the way that it seemed to this week.
I’ve never had the mindset that fear should actually be embraced instead of feared. Overcome maybe, but embraced? No.
I’ve learned, mainly through a lot of self-reflection, that failure is a good thing in so many ways.
Forcing myself to think about all the times I’ve felt like I’ve failed in my endeavors toward growth, I realized it was these failures that forced me to recognize where I needed to change, or what launched me into different actions that ultimately led me to a better version of myself.
So when I look at it this way, how and why am I still so afraid to fail?
Let’s just say, I’m excited to no longer let this fear control me.
In my current trajectory towards building a platform to not only potentially provide value to those who could use it, but also become a source of income for my family, I have decided to go all-in.
Fear or no, I’m here and I’m ready.
Check out this book “Fail More” By Bill Wooditch if you want some more insight on how failure can be a good thing: A great read for anyone on a path towards self improvement.
I’m attempting to shift my mindset to be excited for the ways I will probably fail in this journey, but to not let that keep me from paying attention to what the lesson was in that particular “failure”, and to instead say: “okay, that didn’t work, what else can I do or try?”
By reframing failure as a natural part of the learning process, individuals can liberate themselves from the paralyzing fear of failure and embrace it as a valuable opportunity for reflection, learning, and growth.
#3 Have Courage to Take Risks
This embrace of failure has inspired me to have courage in so many ways.
I can easily say I have no idea what steps I will end up taking to get to my version of success, but I can say I truly believe I’ll make it there.
Not only will I make it there, but I’ll keep going after that onto whatever my next big goal is at that time.
It’s this thinking that gives me the courage to take all the risks necessary to make it happen!
Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the willingness to act in spite of it.
Whatever it is you are working towards, whether it’s leaving a 9 to 5 job to live a better life, or moving to a new city on a whim – It’s courage that we need as our catalyst to propel us out of our comfort zones and into action.
#4 Cultivate Resilience in the Face of Setbacks
Finding the courage to act in spite of fear, is what leads to resilience.
Having resilience allows us to have the ability to bounce back from setbacks or roadblocks with grace and determination.
I’d say resilience is something I am excited to build the most. I can see how it can be the most valuable attribute someone can possess because people with resilience don’t give up. And those who don’t give up, are the ones who succeed.
#5 Overcome the Fear of Judgment
In addition to finding ways to expand my mindset, embrace failure, and cultivate resilience – the other theme that presented itself in my methods of learning this week was the fear of judgment.
Society has ingrained into us that there’s an acceptable “way of things”. So by acting in opposition to any of what we know as the “norm”, it’s bound to bring judgment from those still living in that norm.
I can see how our society often values conformity over individuality – this concept shows up in so many ways, one of which I’ve personally dealt with is its presence in what society thinks motherhood should look like – It’s led to a ton of personal self-doubt that I’ve worked to overcome, and it’s been the situations where I chose NOT to conform to a certain ideology where I was finally able to grow in a positive way.
But needless to say, stepping outside of what others may expect of us can definitely be daunting.
I can see though that true liberation has often come to those who had the willingness to embrace their authenticity and fully pursue their individual passions, regardless of the opinions of others.
So it’s important to build that strength within ourselves, to have self-compassion and acceptance, so we can truly pursue our dreams with courage and conviction.
We’re bound to have some nay-sayers in our life. It’s interesting how even my attempt to start this blog has gotten a few raised eyebrows and an overall sense of “good luck with that” attitudes thrown my way.
But I also recognize that when this comes from people who are close to you, it’s often a personal fear of their own that translates into a lack of support and not an actual lack of support towards you… if that makes sense.
So believe in yourself.
You are the ONLY one who can make it if you want to. The fake-it-till-you-make-it method does work if you’re consistently repeating what you need to hear to yourself. It’s action, it’s repetition, and with enough of both – it’s success!
Conclusion:
I am truly excited to write how implementing these tools for expanding my mindset, embracing fear and courage, and using repetition to create great resilience, launched me into my dreams someday very soon down the road.
Currently, though, I am so excited about the motivation I have in general.
I’m so surprised that I actually have felt an excitement for the unknown this week! If you know me, then you know I am someone who typically needs a game plan, with a few backup plans, and a safety net in place before I’ll try anything new…
But that hasn’t gotten me where I want to be. That mindset hasn’t created the life I want. So, it’s time to change things up.
To actually be excited to “jump off this cliff” (as this is what it feels like I am doing) is insane! But I’m thrilled to witness where it’ll take me, and I can’t wait to see how my journey impacts others, whether in small ways or big.
I promise I’ll share the details as they come.
In the meantime, I hope just the inspiration of expanding your mind so you’re willing to face failure without fear, and harness courage, which will lead to a stronger resilience – is a huge help in motivating you to just chase your dreams.
Take the risks! Big or small.
I’ve taken a few risks these past weeks, and I can definitely say I am shocked by simply the fact that these risks have just emboldened me to keep going!
I’m motivated in new ways that I didn’t know I needed. I truly feel in my gut that there are exciting times ahead for me.
Even if absolutely nothing comes from this challenge I am currently participating in (aside from the confidence boost and motivation I’m talking about), I am happy to have this article alone as an inspiration down the road that I can look back on and use my brain in a new, creative way, to come up with my next plan.
Anyway, I would love to hear your own stories of when you may have embraced courage and overcame your fear of failure, and how that led to success in your life!
Anything you have to share is so wonderful, and I’m excited to hear your experiences!
Leave a comment below! <3
