Mission: FAILURE Recovery

“Unless a man undertakes more than he can possibly do, he will never do all that he can.” – Henry Drummond

Mission:  FAILURE Recovery.  Great title for a blog post.  How I wish I didn’t have the expertise to write it so easily.  The truth is, not too long ago I set a HUGE goal… one that (honestly) I knew was HUGE, but I felt really, really confident I could reach.  I set the goal and announced it to the people who would (also) be directly affected by the goal.  Not only did I fail to reach it, but I failed MISERABLY. 

They say reach for the moon and you’ll at least land among the stars.  Not in this case.  At least not for me.  I reached for the moon, alright,  jumped HARD, and landed with a thud not far from where I started. Not even close.  Massive Failure.

To add insult to professional injury, I’ve been reminded of my failure a couple of times.  You know, statements like,  “We can’t do that again.” or “You said this….but you didn’t even come close.”  Thanks.  =)  There was a time that if the failure itself didn’t leave me emotionally hi-jacked, those comments surely would have derailed me – at least for a time.  But, I hardly gave them a second thought.  Here’s why:

Steve Chandler of www.clubfearless.net taught me that It’s NOT what a goal IS that matters.  It’s what a goal DOES that matters.  So, the goal I set was a specific number target I failed to come anywhere near reaching.  That’s what the goal WAS.  But, here is what the goal DID:

• It challenged me to create an aggressive plan of action, and when striving for goal one, I stumbled onto an opportunity that has proven FAR MORE profitable. (and fun!)
• It pushed me outside of my comfort zone and demanded my actions be bold, strategic and consistent.
• It gave me ample material for a great blog post! =)

Seriously, when we FAIL… and we all will…. it’s important to look at a few things, to make sure we recover WELL!

1. Did the GOAL buoy our ACTIONS?  Meaning, were our actions bolder or bigger because of the goal we set for ourselves?  If not, the goal wasn’t big enough.  If so, take stock of what wins you did experience!!  If your actions “rose up” to meet your HUGE goal, I guarantee you that something incredible was created by you playing to win BIG… even if you feel you “lost”. 
2. Did we do all we know to do?   Lisa Smith from www.hypnocoachlisa.com spoke to our mastermind the other day about the 2 MM difference.  In golf, just turning your wrist a slight 2mm can make all the difference.  So, could you re-try your goal with a slightly different position or from a new angle?
3. Is it worth trying again?  

The biggest FAILURE Recovery plan is to never allow our losses to keep us from planning and playing BIG.  So, set BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOALS and go after them.  Let the GOAL buoy your ACTION… never, ever, ever bring your goals “down” to meet a fear of failure.

Forget what your goal IS for a minute…. let it be big enough to DO something for you… let it be big enough to challenge you, demand something NEW from you, and pressure you to play BIG!!!  =)