CREATING SMALL REVOLUTIONS OF JOY ONE DAY AT A TIME

How To Turn Failure Into Fuel

Use These 5 Tips to Turn Any Failure Into Fuel For Success

The mindset shift came to me in a conversation with my daughter about soccer. I had noticed something happen during her last few games. She would head out onto the field at the start of the game fired up and turn on the heat. Then, one missed pass or one bad touch and she would shut down.

In a moment of parental clarity (which is a blessing when it happens!) I suggested she be grateful for these events and think of every challenging moment as fuel in her tank. Instead of zapping her energy, these moments could fuel her next awesome play.

And It Worked.

I’m grateful for this conversation for many reasons and one of them is because it reframed my whole thought process on failure.

5 Tips To Turn Failure Into Fuel:

1. Be Grateful: instead of beating yourself up or getting depressed, take a moment and say thank you to the mishap. You may even come up with a mantra that you say such as, “Thank you for this failure which is shifting me to a new possibility.”
2. Make A New Plan: think of your failure as a chance to turn a different direction. Try not to get stuck in the rut of your old plan. It’s kind of like an airplane pilot who shifts just slightly depending on conditions once the plane is in the air.
3. Ask For Help: talk to someone about your failure. Ask for their opinion and suggestions moving forward. It’s like watching the tape of the game with the team and the coach. Everyone will have a different perspective and can offer hindsight insight that you may have missed.
4. Persist: failing isn’t the end of the game. Where would we be if every team quit playing if they lost?
5. Welcome A New You: when you take a failure, learn from it, and make a new plan you have transformed yourself into a new person. Celebrate your rebirth!

Finally, here’s a big cheer to the great coaches out there. Our family has been blessed to know many. My sincere hope is that they all know how much they have improved our lives.