Dust yourself off and start all over again

In an earlier posting I wrote that the optimum level of risk is moderate risk, somewhere in between high risk and no risk. I told about the ball in the box game, how no-risk takers stand right on top of the box, and drop the balls in, whereas extreme-risk takers stand far away from the box before they throw the balls. The no-risk takers accomplish what they set out to do, but they accomplish very little. Dick Bass, the first man to climb to the top of the seven summits, the highest point of each continent, put it well, “What we achieve too easily we esteem too lightly.”

The high-risk takers, on the other hand, seldom get the balls in the box, and when they don’t, they point out how difficult it was. Their choices pretty much guarantee failure.

The moderate risk takers take reasoned risks, so when they do accomplish something, they can take pride in their accomplishment, and, flush with success, they are motivated to take on a new challenge.

However, moderate risk takers do fail. If they never failed, they would be no-risk takers. And just as success impacts your motivation, increasing it so you try new challenges, failure impacts motivation as well. Unfortunately, its impact is negative. Failure can make you not want to take on new challenges.

I used to be a prosecutor. I have experienced failures, they're called defense verdicts. When I lost a case, I wanted never to have to try another case again. However, it was my job, my income, so I would get back up on the horse and try another one. Quitting wasn’t an option.

When you are your own boss going after your vision, failure can make you gun shy and impact decisions you make; you may become tempted to become a no-risk taker. I believe Napoleon Hill had it right when he said, “Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do.”

It’s certainly what automatic man does. Failure hurts and automatic man avoids pain. So it’s not the failure that causes the problem, it’s our response to it.

To help you deal with failure when it comes, here are four strategies intentional man uses instead of letting failure rob him of his motivation:

1. Understand that in order to move forward you need to put yourself in a position to fail.
2. Know that a mistake merely means an unwanted result, an opportunity for learning. Capitalize on your failures.
3. Pat yourself on the back; failure means you are pushing your limits.
4. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.

Failure is a drag, there is no denying it. But failure, by itself, does not defeat a person. So long as the person gets up again, he is undefeated.

What do you do to pick yourself up after you've run into the proverbial brick wall? Why not post a comment and share your strategy with your fellow readers.