You should be able to find several indispensable facts about failure and its relationship to stress in the following paragraphs. Most of this information comes straight from personal experience. Read the article carefully to the end in order to take advantage of that experience and learn to divide and conquer failure.
We all know what it’s like to drop the ball—whether at work or home. It’s amazing how friends, family, and co – workers seem to disappear when we fail—we feel so alone and can’t seem to escape the pain of frustration and regret. Yet, this very pain can bring relief and strengthen us, for our many failures can lead to personal growth and development if we choose to learn from them.
Here are a few tips for successfully managing the three emotions of failure: fear, guilt and discouragement. Use them each time you experience a “failure moment”. The more you apply these principles the quicker you will rebound and recover from failure.
Fear
Many leadership mistakes can be attributed to fear of looking foolish, groundless panic or sudden alarm about the possibility that something awful might just happen, and many other instances of dread or apprehension. Fear robs a person of courage and the power to act effectively. It is often paralyzing, leaving its victim feeling confused and helpless. When we succumb to fear, we create an environment where failure thrives. Consider these tips.
- Confront your fears.
- To overcome something you must first engage it head – on. Recognize that what you fear the most rarely comes true.
Guilt
It is good to be aware of having done something wrong or to feel responsible for some offense, especially in situations that require ethical behavior. In these cases a feeling of guilt tugs at our core values and causes us to act objectively and fairly. But, when we indulge in heavy self – reproach for a supposed shortcoming, inadequacy or occasional poor decision, most likely we are being too hard on ourselves. Try these tips.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Realize that you are not perfect and are bound to make mistakes – - that’s how you learn.
Discouragement
This emotion is the most insidious of the three for it weakens confidence and causes a downward spiral into despondency and depression. Discouragement deters and hinders us from overcoming obstacles, undertaking new initiatives, and making objective and timely decisions. Use these strategies.
- Choose encouragement. Absolutely refuse to be discouraged.
- Look at your challenges as opportunities. Focus on creative solutions to issues and problems.
- Sometimes finding out what doesn’t work is the key to finding out what does work, so apply the learnings from previous failures to further enhance your successes.
You can’t predict when knowing something extra about overcoming failure will come in handy. If you learned anything new from this article, bookmark it so that you can find it again.
