Monday, May 16, 2011

What If You Couldn’t Fail - At Anything?

Have you ever wondered what you would do with your life if you truly couldn’t fail at anything? How would such an insight change your life? Would you move toward your goals with stronger purpose and relentless determination? Would you laugh at obstacles and challenges? Would you ignore negative comments from other people in your life?

Imagine that anything you wanted right now was available to you, and there was NO POSSIBLE WAY you could fail in your attempt to get it. How would that have changed the goals you’ve set in the past, and how might it change your current goals?

If you’re like most people, this exercise may help you realize a few things:

You’ve been playing small. You may have doubts about your ability to achieve the goals you really want, so you settle for smaller goals that you know you can handle.

The problem with doing this is that you’re not working toward goals that really keep you motivated. The smaller goals you’re setting may be “nice” but they’re not what REALLY get you fired up! As you know, staying motivated is easier when you’re working toward something that’s vitally important to you.

Failure isn’t your biggest fear – success is! One common reaction many people have to the questions asked in the beginning of this article is the realization that they still wouldn’t go after bigger goals because the thought of achieving them is more frightening than failing! Staying where you are might seem more appealing than going after big goals because at least your current situation is familiar and comfortable – if not very satisfying.

Of course, nothing will change if you don’t find a way to believe in your capabilities! A funny thing happens when people achieve an important goal – they realize they are capable of handling much more than they ever suspected before. They realize that their fears were groundless and they’re grateful that they pushed forward despite them.

Failure doesn’t exist until YOU say it does. When you look back at your past failures, you’ll probably notice a couple of things: failure occurred when you refused to try; and failure occurred when you quit trying.

How many times have you done those things? This realization can be life-changing if you allow it to be! Think about the goals you’ve set in the past, and ask yourself if you refused to try or quit trying at any point. Most likely your answer will be affirmative.

Now take a moment to think about your current goals. What if you simply began working toward them and refused to quit? What would happen? Only you can determine whether failure is possible for you – solely based upon your willingness to keep moving forward or not!

74 comments:

  1. That would suck, like living forever, that would suck too.

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  2. Very inspirational and certainly motivating, Thank you for this post :)

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  3. If i couln'd fail i guess i'd talk again to my ex-gf.. Well -.-

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  4. i think i need to set higher goals.

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  5. id love to never fail at anything... man life would be so awesome

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  6. True, most people don't realize that success can be frightening...

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  7. I've never been afraid to fail. Always did what I did to become better at it than I was.
    I found eventually you've reached a certain skill level where some people may look up to you and ask for advice and become motivated, and other people (the vast majority) feel offended and do their best to bring you down. As much as I know it's all rooted in their own insecurity and low self esteem, it still makes me feel bad. On one hand wanting to reach success, to show them.. I guess. Although it's never been about success. Just about getting myself occupied, and having fun. I'd rather be encouraged.

    No one should be afraid to fail, just have a good time trying to reach your goals, and even if you didn't, you tried for yourself, not for others.

    I love your blog.

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  8. interesting thoughts on failure. I try to hold on to that thought of holding no regrets. Even if its a perceived failure, I try not to see it as regret.

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  9. This post makes me feel a little more motivated. :) Thanks.

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  10. Great post, i'm gonna read your blog archive !

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  11. Failing makes us know that anything in life is easy and we must fight fot it

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  12. Interesting this makes me think I think everything we do is limited due to the fear of failing

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  13. I'm thinking life would be pretty boring.

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  14. Great insight. We choose to fail at some things in life. Gotta try harder!

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  15. If I couldn't fail at anything, I'd do many things that are quite impossible since I cannot fail at them.

    Your last part though, 'Failure doesn't exist until YOU say it does'. That's the way I try to push myself when I workout. My body only stops when I tell it to. My body will only shut down when I say it's had enough. As long as I have the mindset, I will always be able to go on.

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  16. I've been a long time sufferer of performance anxiety. Post QFT!

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  17. This is really a great article. I wish I could keep this things in mind as I go about my life.

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  18. Being able to do anything without failure would be fantastic.

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  19. I don't feel like I would move forward any more rapidly. I just think it would make me reckless. Like I would do things that I would normally consider stupid because I knew I couldn't fail.

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  20. This post makes me feel better about myself now. heh. I did fail a few times coz I simply stopped trying.

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  21. Very very good reminder for everyone- good post

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  22. My goals are as small as they come. It's a victory if I just get out of bed in the morning lol

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  23. Crazy concept! Thinking like this should drive you to success.. Good read thanks

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  24. The thing is, i'd agree with the second and third statement for myself: I'm really keen on having the stability. and changes of whatsoever make me feel uncomfortable, be them for better or for worse. But looking back, i'm always kinda see that any failure i had has brought something new and also important. Sometimes it would support the idea i had before, sometimes bring new understanding, but i don't remember that i did something wrong, and was regretting about it since with no profit seen.
    But either way i would like to be able one day to think in such a way that success would come for me. As for the question in the beginning, I'd answer, that the failure appears when you accept it. But all the other time - it is a success. And you don't have to have a superpower to succeed in anything you want to do. You just have to have a superwilling! :)

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  25. I can totally relate to this, I'm going to follow for more

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  26. It's an interesting outlook on life.

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  27. I posted something about giving up in my blog, check it out you'll find it interesting, it's a horse race

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  28. to be honest, ive tried to make this my outlook on life for a while, you never know how you are gonna do unless you try, always have to give it a shot!

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  29. This.

    Seriously. The only people who succeed are those who set goals, and work tirelessly at achieving them. I am confident I will do everything I want to before I die. Unless a bus hits me.

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  30. Great things to think about. It really can be life changing to change the way you think about failure

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  31. nice exercise i'm gonna try this :-)

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  32. I would probably get bored...

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  33. If I learned I couldn't fail at failing, I would instantly try and fail. Then the universe would implode.

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  34. People fail at least once in their lives, I don't see how anyone can live a life without failing at something.

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  35. You have to know what failing feels like to appreciate winning. But if I couldnt fail at anything than I wouldnt be a very nice person for alot of people to be around. I would only be nice to the people who were there for me when I have failed.

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  36. man, if i was 100% successful, life would be boring. sure, it would be fun for a few months. but it's like playing a game with cheat codes on. or useing game shark. If it does not take any effort to achieve then there is no reward.

    also, failure can occure and your trying has nothing to do with it. If you run out of resources then you cant try any more. but keep trying, its good for your character.

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  37. This.... I wish I had read it before deciding not to go to Law School.

    Sigh.

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  38. So, basically, everyone can be succefful but is yourself who don't want to?

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  39. Thank you for this article, it really got me thinking!
    And my opinion on achieving the really big goals in life is that the people are rather scared to reach that goal and then don't know any further. They are working in small steps towards these goals instead of going for it directly, because if they would accomplish the actual goals they might now know what to do further. The people are afraid to achieve what they are trying to achieve.

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  40. thanks for this great article. everytime i start a new project i don't finish it completly . i'm going to chance this

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  41. Interesting post, I think failure is inevitable for everyone, but it happens to some people more than others i guess.

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  42. I say failure exist quite often. To lazy to get stuff done.

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  43. Interesting post, thanks for writing that you had a lot of good points.

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  44. If you don't fail , you don't live.

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  45. I already feel more motivated after reading this. Also I noticed that your background is in German, that's pretty funny.

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  46. Love this post. Really encouraging. I definitely believe life is all about state of mind. Failure is healthy and beneficial because it helps you learn more about yourself. Just don't let it get you down!

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  47. Great read, reminds me Murphy's rules.

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  48. This is actually a really good article. I WISH I couldn't fail at anything but I know otherwise XD

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  49. "Failure isn’t your biggest fear – success is!" I disagree here.

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  50. That's a very unique way of looking at things.

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  51. Wow Great advice. If only I weren't lazy....

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  52. Alright! I keep on asking for that interview then ultil the bugger falls dead!

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  53. I try and avoid failure as much as I can. I'm quite competitive whether it's with myself or with others. Still, can't avoid it forever, and it does occasionally hit.

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  54. i would feel empty man, really empty, the real fear of success is in the fear of emptyness you could have when u have gotten everything u wanted, and went everywhere u could, altough i would feel GREAT for accomplishing everything, i would feel empty for not having anything else to look forward to :/

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  55. Failure is natural. If you don't fail at anything your ego will consume you.

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  56. Great blog! Keep the posts coming, i enjoy reading them!

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  57. I love that saying, 'what would you do if you could not fail'! I think it to myself a lot, mostly when exercising - yes, I'm a little wimp. lol

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  58. If you never fail, you never learn that's the point

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  59. It'll be like "viva la vida" track.

    I could be the ruler of the world easily.

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  60. Good post, it makes me feel a bit better. Sometimes it's hard to accept his own failures and mistakes, and your post will help me in the next days, because I'm afraid of failing within my exams...

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  61. Thank you, we need more motivation, especially when there are many trying to depress your attitude.

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  62. I'm okay with failing as long as it means that I learn a little bit each time and get better. It's all about practice!

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  63. Hmm.... i think that this is a great article to write because it forces us to analyze ourselves (which I know i HATE doing) and try to fix them. This article has made me rethink my way of living. It appears change is imminent!

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