Self-aware leaders aren’t afraid of failure because they understand that there is much to be learned from any experience or situation, including the negative ones.
I often work with leaders who set a goal and then pile a bunch of other stuff on top of it and paralyze themselves before doing anything. Then they tell me that they’re afraid of doing something wrong or scared of messing up.
The idea that we do things wrong or mess up comes from inside our own minds and was often put there by our families. We repeat these ideas over and over, even when they lead to negative results. The interesting thing is that messing up is such a relative term because it really depends on your definition of it.
The next time you set a goal for yourself try focusing less on the whole “I’m doing something wrong and what if I fail,” outlook and set yourself up for success. Try the following ideas to let go of the need to be perfect:
1. Set an achievable goal you know you can do.
2. Do one thing at a time and don’t burden yourself with extra things.
3. Celebrate when you complete a task, do something to treat yourself well.
You only fail if you set yourself up for failure or listen to the negative messages inside your head. Success comes from setting realistic goals, completing them and moving forward purposefully.
What will you do to increase self-awareness and use failure as a learning tool?
Cheers,
Guy
