Never stop trying.
These are important words to live by.
Sometimes, life throws us a curve ball, and all we want to do is quit the game. We’re afraid of failure, so we want to stop trying.
But what good would that really do?
If you quit the game early, how will you ever know what you are capable of?
Thomas Knight said, “If you try, you might fail. But if you don’t try, you’ll never succeed.”
Failure Doesn’t Have To Be Scary
I know that in the moment when we are faced with failure, it can seem really scary.
This is why we let our fear of failure stop us from even trying.
And sometimes, we focus on perfectionism and can’t move past making a mistake.
But in doing this, we self-sabotage ourselves and everything we are working toward.
When it comes to our view of failure, we have to see it differently.
First of all, do you know anyone who has NOT failed at something? I can guarantee you that your answer to that question is no.
Everyone has failed at something at some point in their life. It’s a natural part of the growth process.
I truly believe that failures are what lead us to success.
And while it’s true that if you try, you might fail, it is equally true that if you try, you just might succeed.
You have a 50/50 chance.
So why not focus on what it will feel like to succeed? Then, allow that vision to give you the momentum you need to keep moving forward.
Because if you only focus on the possible failure, it will keep you from even trying at all.
If you are struggling to act, ask yourself these questions:
“What am I really afraid of?”
“If I fail, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“What happens if I succeed?”
Your answers to these questions can help you to put things into perspective.
When Failure Comes, Try, Try Again
All of the greatest people who have ever lived have failed. That, alone, should put things into perspective for you.
One of my favorite stories about not giving up was the story of Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan became what many consider the greatest basketball player in the history of the game.
But before all his success, he was actually cut from his high school basketball team. His was probably one of the most famous failures of all time.
But he didn’t let that bump in the road stop him from achieving greatness.
He got back out there because he was determined to never stop trying.
Failure didn’t matter to him. As a matter of fact, he saw failure as the reason for success.
Michael Jordan has been quoted as saying, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
When we see our failures as just bumps in the road, they become stepping stones to success.
And we stop fearing failure.
We start seeing failure as a way for us to learn and grow and reach for the success we’re hoping for.
The greatest basketball player of all time missed 9,000 shots. He wasn’t perfect but he never stopped trying. That is what made him successful.
I don’t know if any of us have failed 9,000 times in something we’ve attempted. But until we do, we can look to Michael Jordan as an example to keep on trying.
Resilience Comes When We Never Stop Trying
Whether we try and succeed or we try and fail, there are going to be good things that come from trying.
If we try and succeed, we gain confidence.
If we try and fail, we gain resilience.
We also learn important lessons and life experience.
Imagine what would happen if every time someone tried and failed, they just stopped trying.
It would be a completely different world if we all quit the first time.
Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the lightbulb. He was also told by his teacher that he was too stupid to learn anything.
The inventor of the Dyson vacuum had 5,126 failed prototypes before creating his best-selling bagless vacuum.
Steven Spielberg was rejected not once but twice by the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
Walt Disney was once told he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.
There are so many famous people who are where they are today because they never stopped trying.
They looked failure in the face and simply kept on moving on.
We can do the same thing when we are faced with the possibility of failure. We can try anyway.
Sure, failure may seem scary. And it’s okay to be afraid. But we can’t let our fear stop us from trying.
I say this to my kids all the time. I tell them, “I know it might be scary. But if you don’t do it, you’ll never know what might have been.”
The worst thing someone can say to you when you put yourself out there is no. But if you don’t ask, you will never know.
Every time you try and fail and try again, you are strengthening your resilience and moving one step closer to success.
Here’s How To Keep On Trying
When fear tries to get the best of you, here are some things you can do.
Accept that failure is normal.
Everybody fails. Embracing your failures is really part of achieving success.
Take perfection out of the equation.
There is no such thing as perfection. Strive to do your best. And if it doesn’t work, pick yourself up and do it again. Take what you learned from that failure and make the experience even stronger next time.
Don’t get stuck in your own head.
If you’re really stressed out about something, talk to someone about it. Share what you’re struggling with about the situation. People really do want to help—so let them.
Remember the cost of not trying.
Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.” So, take the shot.
Be kind to yourself.
Self-care is important, especially when you hit a bump in the road. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself permission to rest. And when you’re all rested up, get up and try again.
Nobody Wants to Fail
If you were to ask people, realistically, no one wants to fail. Mistakes are hard because they show us where we’re vulnerable.
But if we were to step back and look at the bigger picture, we would realize that failure truly is what leads us to success.
It’s evidence that we were willing to try.
That’s how we learn and grow.
And the moment we stop making mistakes is the moment we stop trying.
