Reframing Failure

Paris. The City of Lights. This beautiful city is on everyone’s mind these days as the world’s best athletes have been competing in the Olympic games this past week or so. I’ve been so inspired by every athlete, tuning into the games after work to catch up on the replays. Their dedication, discipline, and years of hard work have led up to this very moment. Just one shot. One moment to realize that dream they have viscerally visualized day in and day out. They have just one day, or those who are fortunate enough, have several opportunities to win gold. But we don’t see all of the effort, relentless training, and sacrifices they have made to take that podium. And yet. Those who are the most successful, the ones who win gold, those who reach the highest of heights, fail often and the most. Isn’t that wild? Think about it. The most successful people fail often and welcome it. Why? Because failure is simply training. Winston Churchill put it best, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” It’s pressing on when it’s hard. Pressing on when you stumble. Pressing on when you'd much rather surrender and give in. But no. Those who succeed, press on despite those hurdles, the roadblocks, and the moments of weakness. They compose themselves and try again. They get comfortable with the possibility and inevitability they will fail at some point. It just part of the road to success.

Think about when you go to the gym or any training session. To build new, stronger muscles, you have to break down your muscle fibers. By lifting weights and maxing out your muscles followed by adequate recovery, you grow stronger and more resilient. The growth and success actually happen in the breakdown, It begins with the challenge, the pain, and the effort. Those athletes who were training up to that very podium moment were actually failing their entire way there in that context. They were training. Reframe failure as training. They were putting in the hard work, fatiguing, making sacrifices, perfecting their jump, their stride, their throw failing countless of times along the way. I don’t mean that they didn’t lose matches or races, of course, they did, that’s inevitable even for the best in the world athlete. They learn what they can improve, take the lessons, and make the necessary adjustments, and tweaks in their training, their tactics, etc to move forward to the next one. Learning goes hand in hand with failing or facing any challenge. With every failure or loss, they strive to make the improvements and move forward towards their goal, learning as they dance with failure and success. That is why they can call themselves Olympians, reaching their peak athletic performance because they didn’t give up, they cultivated their skills day in and day out, without losing any enthusiasm along the way.

These are some questions that will help you reframe failure or challenge in any context so that one step back means two steps forward.

I hope they help you reframe whatever challenge you may be facing and know that growth and success is just around the corner,

Alanna

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1. What can I learn from this disappointment or challenge?

2. How do I need to adjust my approach?

3. What strengths or skills have I developed as a result of this challenge?

4. How has this experience brought me closer to my goals or helped me clarify them?

5. What positive aspects or opportunities have emerged from this situation?

6. In what ways did this experience push me out of my comfort zone and encourage growth?

7. What new perspectives or insights have I gained from this experience?

8. How can I celebrate the effort and courage it took to face this challenge?

9. What feedback or advice did I receive, and how can I apply it constructively?

10. What are the small wins I can take away from this failure or challenge?