Day 306: Failure is not a Reflection

Often in life we take on different endeavors, giving them our 'all,' only to be met with defeat. Only to fail.

Or so it may seem . . .

If things don't work out when you try them, it's isn't a reflection of YOU.
It's an indication that there is missing [needed] information.

When I think of my own experience with confusing this notion, I think about my writing. I had my last coaching session of the year last week and this was a topic we touched on.

I said I wanted to find a way to ensure that I am connecting with the people I desire to reach - and was immediately asked how I could tell if I was or not.

Then, reality struck.

Did I have any metrics in place to know/measure who is actually reading my work? The answer was, 'no.'

Because of this I felt like I was failing, when I really had no proof.

This way of thinking is like saying I failed at making a shirt when I was missing some of the pattern pieces. If I don't have all of the pieces needed, I can't possibly make the intended shirt.

I didn't fail - I needed more materials [information].
The same can be said for life.

We aren't failing when something doesn't turn out how we planned. We often just are missing some piece that we didn't know we needed.

It's up to us, upon discovering this missing information, to decide if we want to seek it out or if we want to change course and pivot in a different direction.

Both are fine options.
Both are valid options.

The only unhelpful option would be to deliberately not learn anything from the situation. To complain and continue on in the exact same manner, expecting different results.

Failure is not a reflection of You. It's a message of what else is needed.