You set a goal, a very ambitious goal.
You have a desire to reach new heights, and this desire has always been within you.
You’re determined.
So determined that you make a plan, a very detailed plan to achieve this goal.
Then you go at it.
Perhaps you derive your value from what you achieve. Perhaps you have demons from the past and want to prove all the haters wrong. Or maybe you just want to see how high you’re able to climb.
Regardless of the reason, you need this to happen…This is the one thing that will change your life for the better, so it’s all or nothing.
You begin each day visualizing the outcome that you want, and day after day, you orient your actions to get you one step closer to the final destination.
You begin to inform your loved ones and they all support you along the way…This isn’t just for you, but it’s for them as well.
Now you’re paranoid.
You’re anxious because you fear letting these people down, and you don’t want to experience the pain of being rejected yet again.
But it’s good paranoia, and you use it to keep yourself productive even when your body is telling you to rest.
Fast forward a bit, and now it’s time to perform.
You’ve been determined, and you’ve been going at it.
All the hard work, time, energy, and sacrifices you made have come down to this one moment…
So you’re going to give it your all.
This is the moment when everything changes, for better or worse.
…
Tell me, were you able to relate to this?
If so, how relatable was it?
What was the outcome, and was it the outcome you wanted?
…
The above excerpt highlights my train of thought as I was going about the recruitment process, and the end result was that I didn’t get the outcome that I desired.
It’s hard to describe the mixture of emotions I felt (and still feel), ranging from feelings of inadequacy to indifference to pure sadness, and I don’t think these will be leaving me anytime soon.
However, like Napoleon Hill quotes, it’s not about the failure itself but rather how one responds to failing that matters the most.
Of course, it’s much easier said than done though.
Even as I write about this now, I still questioned if the path I was pursuing was the right one for me after hearing the news.
I immediately began to doubt my abilities, and this just went further and further into a negative loop of self-criticism.
This is a common reaction to failure: we begin doubting ourselves, and some of us start giving up entirely.
So please hear me out when I say this.
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from: failure is an inevitable part of life.
Instead of sulking around and feeling bad for yourself, I encourage you to grow from your mistakes.
What would you have done differently?
How can you ensure this doesn’t happen again?
And what new direction can you take now to get to where you want to be?
You only truly fail when you give up, and this is 100% within your control.
I’m going to get the outcome I want, whether it’s now or in the future, and you have my word on that.
Everything in life is either a celebration or a lesson to be learned.
JL