Run towards success by leaning into failure
Click here to listen to Episode 47
In the trenches
Rise and shine 6er,
Our society generally frowns upon failure and sees it as a negative outcome, so many of us are too afraid to act to avoid failure. The result? A mediocre life. There’s a story where Thomas Edison was asked by a reporter, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” and he replied with “I didn’t fail 1,000 times, the lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps”.
Failure is nothing to be ashamed of. We are all humans, and each of us will experience failure at points, and it’s fantastic. Facing the possibility of failure actually makes us more independent and more assertive and if we keep moving forward, the hard-won lessons in every struggle is worth it in the end because no one can achieve success without experiencing failure.
In failing, we learn about what we value the most and make us appreciate the little things in life. To overcome the fear of failure, you need to prepare yourself for the challenges and shape your mindset to get used to failure and not see it negatively.
If you practice mindfulness, it forces you to look inward and take an inventory of things that truly matter to you. It teaches you to see failure as a turning point where life is trying to move you into another direction where the lessons are so you are better prepared to receive the success that is ahead of you. So fail early, fail often, and fail forward.
Let’s make it happen!
The INSUM
Intelligence summary of insights from this week’s podcast
Success doesn’t always come with fulfillment. There comes a time where achieving a goal doesn’t feel enough. It is fulfillment that gives meaning in success and to attain that, we must constantly track ourselves whether or not we are acting and functioning towards our highest values.
In this week’s episode of Got Your Six podcast, we are joined by Dr. Theresa Larson, a Marine Corps veteran with a doctorate in physical therapy. She is the founder of Movement Rx, a digital health and well-being platform combining physical therapy and mindfulness. Her clients include CrossFit, FitOps, and the Veteran Administration's Adaptive Sports Program and Whole Health Program
The aspiration to become the best version of ourselves is found through self-improvement and requires an inner journey. Through mindfulness practice, this is achievable. As you become more aware of your surroundings, you become more present; your purpose becomes more clear, which brings more positive energy back to your life.
Failure is a story we tell ourselves. Here are three practical and implementable life lessons from Dr. Larson’s journey of overcoming personal struggles and actively learning from setbacks.
1. Try monotasking instead of multitasking.
Having excellent project management skills is crucial to succeeding in professional and personal life. While both methods serve their own benefits, science studies now reveal that multitasking actually shrinks our chances of accuracy and efficiency.
Multitasking requires context switching, which tends to overburden our brain, thus reducing focus and slowing us down. By completing one task at a time, you increase mindfulness and produce better results.
2. Structure your time everyday for maximum productivity.
Having routines helps a great deal with time management and building positive habits. Having intentional routines and time limits to complete any activity lowers your stress and you don’t spend excess energy more than you have to. This leads to overall optimized workday productivity and later success.
3. Seek to do things that serve people and add it to your purpose.
Helping others is deeply associated with a meaningful, purposeful life. Altruistic goals that serve the community or ones that can potentially change the lives of others for the better, increase your sense of fulfillment
Here at the Got Your Six podcast, we believe that failures are momentary events. They are an inevitable part of the self-improvement process. If you look at it with a different mindset, there is an advantage of leaning into failure. Building self-awareness in the moment allows you to take a tactical pause and choose a different approach.
Now that you know the upside of looking into failure with a different mindset try modifying your approach and understand that failure is a natural feedback mechanism. You can’t change failure but you can always choose how to respond to them.
Share this newsletter with a battle buddy facing a tough setback in life and remind them that leaning into failure and learning from it is an essential step in evolving into a better and wiser version of themselves.