Fail/Failing/Failure. It’s becoming a term used ever so common in every day communication.
Before we discuss it any further, let’s get Merriam-Webster.com to define it:
Fail (verb) – to not succeed : to end without success : to not do (something that you should do or are expected to do).
There are a multitude of variations but let’s just summarise ‘fail’ to when we have not succeeded our expectations or completed a task.
As a gym coach/physical trainer I hear the word being used way more than it needs to be. I believe training in the gym is a process. Losing weight is a process. Building muscle is a process.
If you are in a process, then it is difficult to say that your output can be considered a fail, because you have not yet met your endpoint, which is a key indicator in the definition of failing. In order to measure success you must have a definitive end-point or expectation (Goal). If you are in a process of self-improvement, then you really can’t fail anything. You are just learning better ways of achieving your goal.
However there will be times in your life that you will fail. But it’s not really a time to drop your bag and feel like the world is against you. Ask any successful entrepreneur or sportsperson how many times they’ve failed in their lives.
A VERY successful entrepreneur and business investor, Com Mirza, whom I met at a Conference in Las Vegas, had failed in 8 business ventures by the time he was 18. He continued throughout his life to build new businesses and achieved very little success for a long time.
His persistence and personal fortitude of learning from his mistakes and failures has now led him to a $400 million empire that he has built in the past 8 years alone.
I also liken success to a multitude of mini-failures and small success. Surfing is a great example of this. I don’t believe a World Champion has been crowned in Surfing in recent years to someone who has won every single event on the World Tour. Kelly Slater is hands down, the most successful of all surfers. Year after year he’s either World Champ or within the top 3. Of course he’s very good, but it’s his consistency that keeps him there. He doesn’t win every event, but he does well in many of them. But if he’s knocked out in Round 2 or 3, then it’s considered a failure because he would have had an expectation of being in the final. But we all know his story!
I wanted to keep this short so I’ll cut straight to the chase. We’ve established what failing is. If you feel like you are failing at gym, or business, or weight loss, or muscle building, or parenting….whatever it is, maybe it’s your goal setting that isn’t on track. Just maybe you are placing much higher goals/standards on yourself than you are ready to tackle. So if you perceive yourself as ‘failing’ then maybe you need to reassess your ‘goals’ or ‘expectations’ based on your time, current strength/fitness levels, knowledge, education, experience, etc.
Setting yourself realistic and ACHIEVABLE goals is one of the best ways to achieve constant success and boost personal confidence. Set your goals low. Start there. Once you achieve them, then just increase them slightly. Be realistic. Give yourself the time and credit required in order to achieve those goals.
If you’ve never Deadlifted in your life and the first time you do it you can only lift 50kg, then don’t set a double bodyweight Deadlift as your goal. It’s too far away and will only frustrate you. Maybe just bodyweight is your first goal.
All goals must be realistic and tangible. But once you set them, then put in the work to achieve those goals. They won’t achieve themselves. This is just as important as setting the goal. Relying on your talent and just freely going about your business isn’t specific enough to ensure that you are making measurable progress toward achieving your goal.
So I now have a task for you. Find something that you want to achieve. Set it as your goal. It may be long way off, then break it down into smaller goals with comfortable time frames. Then set about doing it. It may take you 6 months, or 10 years. Does it matter? If you get it done, then you’ve achieved success!
Back yourself – you can do anything you really want to achieve!
thegymyamba 