There are certain habits or mindsets that make failure virtually inevitable. Whether in relationships, careers, tasks, or any other life endeavor, any one of these habits – failure to act, failure to adapt, failure to communicate, failure to leverage failures – can negate success.
Failure to Act
If you don’t try, nothing is going to happen. Makes a lot of sense. But what may happen is oftentimes the very reason we fail to act. Taking action means committing to whatever results may occur. If we focus on the potential for failure, not acting seems logical to avoid the potential pain. Unfortunately, by avoiding what could be a failure, we negate any chance for success.
Failure to Adapt
Change happens whether we want it or not. Resistance to change is ultimately about fear that with change comes the potential for failure. Pick the reason: “I’ve always done it this way,” “I’m too old to try that,” “I like the way things are,” “I know what I am doing.” Even when working toward a goal we sometimes ignore the need to adapt along the way. There is a false sense of control in staying the course. The reality is that failure to adapt is the ultimate surrender of control. No control means no chance for success.
Failure to Communicate
We fail to approach the boss about a promotion because we are afraid of what he will say. No promotion comes. We fail to tell our spouse how something they do really bothers us. We resent those actions. We fail to tell friends we need them when we struggle. We struggle alone. We fail to tell the truth when we mess up. Fear of being caught consumes us. We don’t communicate because we don’t want what we communicate to fail. And it certainly can. Yet, not communicating is almost always going to lead to failure to get what we need and want out of life
Failing to Leverage Failures
In 1968, 3M scientist Spencer Silver was tasked with creating a high-strength aircraft construction adhesive. His initial formulations led to a weak, pressure sensitive adhesive that was shelved out of failure. It took almost a decade of attempts by Silver to convince management this adhesive had value. After several reformulations, they found that the adhesive would stick to pieces of paper that could be easily removed from surfaces with no residue. In 1978, 3M began selling Post-It Notes. Enough said.
The irony is that these routes we take to avoid failing are not only limiting success, they are direct paths to failure. Success is not inevitable in anything. Success is only possible, though, if we act, adapt, communicate, and leverage our failures.
Part 3 in a series on The Failures that Lead to Success.
Part 1: Redefining Success and Failure
Part 2: The Necessity of Failure
Part 3: True Failure