February 25, 2016

How Do You Deal with Failure?

How Do You Deal with Failure?

Today, I was interviewed by a friend and colleague, Mihai Herman, for a piece he’s featuring on his business coaching blog. And he asked me an interesting question:

 

“How do you deal with failure?”

 

It was a surprise question, and I’ll admit, for a moment it gave me pause.

 

All kinds of thoughts ran through my head: How DO I deal with failure? I suspect I don’t do it very gracefully.

 

But as I answered the question, I came to the realization that my definition of failure has changed over time.

 

And it’s not so much how I get over the failure – but what I refer to as failure – that’s been the mark of progress, and a move toward happiness, in my life.

 

So many of us who are committed to perfection (and bound in chains by those commitments) see failure as an inability to achieve results. We see failure as a “bad outcome.” We see failure as a missing of the mark, a performance below objectives, or an accomplishment that just wasn’t up to snuff.

 

I know I defined failure that way for the first 40 years of my life:

I got up to bat. I swung, I struck out.

I failed.

 

And if I had to answer the question, “How did I deal with those failures?” I’d have to say that I did NOT deal with them very well.

 

I crawled under the covers.

I hid.

I entered into a horrible cycle of self-reproach and even shame.

I flogged myself.

And I wasted time in self-pity and resentment. Time I could have dedicated to my next success.

 

As Mihai was asking me the question, this was all tossing around in my mind in a kind of word salad.

 

And at the same time, I was thinking, It’s been a long time now since I’ve really failed at anything. Could that be possible? Have I become a success??

 

And I saw the truth:

 

The reason it’s been some time since I’ve experienced real failure (and the avalanche of emotions that go along with it), is that I’ve changed my definition of failure.

 

I’ve allowed myself to experience success.

 

You see, today, I define failure as my refusal or unwillingness to do the work.

I define failure as not living up to my own expectations.

I define failure as letting myself down.

 

I know there’s lots of talk today about entitlement, especially with demographic group called the Millennials. I read all kinds of articles about the danger in never keeping score, giving trophies to everyone, and in never declaring a winner. I read about the damage done by praising kids for their achievements, whether they achieve anything or not. And I believe there’s a lot of merit in those concerns.

 

So I don’t want to give the indication that I think I’m a winner every time I do my best. Because I’m not.

 

Sometimes I do my best and I lose.

Sometimes the other team is better.

And on those days, I don’t deserve a trophy.

 

But the question is: Am I failure every time I lose?

 

And at age 49, with 26 years of business experience behind me, I can answer that question with a solid, “No.”

 

I’m only a failure when I lose, if I tie my own idea of success to going home with the trophy.

 

At this point in my life, I see it this way:

 

I fail when I don’t do what I said I would do.

I fail when I give up.

I fail when I give in to resentment or self-pity.

I fail when I settle.

I fail when I do things outside of my core values.

I fail when I’m not honest with myself.

I fail when I decide to lie down at the plate and refuse to take a swing at the ball.

I fail when I don’t show up.

 

My son’s third grade teacher, Cynthia Paulsen, is one of the best teachers I’ve ever met. She used to say to Christian:

“Your best will be just good enough.”

And you know what? I believe her.

 

“Oh, here we go again, Juju,” you say. “Here we go with no real winners and trophies for the losers.”

 

But that’s not the case I’m trying to put forward. And the distinction is critical. Here’s what I mean:

 

My husband is a competitive Ironman. He competes in Ironman. He wants to go to the world championships in Kona. He works to be consistently in the top 1% in the nation. He wants a trophy. His efforts are geared toward a very specific result. After the race, he can recognize and remember other competitors whom he ran past, or who ran past him.

 

I tried a half Ironman once. (Once.) And I completed it. I didn’t show up to win. I never, for a moment, entertained the thought that I would even see the winner that day. I didn’t race that event. I entered it. I completed it. And I was 2,498th out of 2,500 people. (I kid you not.) I did not remember or recognize the people who ran or rode past me, because everyone ran or rode past me!

 

Did I win? Nope.

Do I deserve a trophy? Absolutely not.

Can I still feel proud? You bet your ass I can.

Did I fail? No way.

 

It was 70.3 miles of tremendously hard work and six months of training before that. It was challenging and humbling and empowering, swimming 1.2 miles through a muddy lake and then pedaling and running with my short little legs and trunk full of junk another 69.1 miles on the back roads of Florida in 85-degree heat.

 

But I have to ask the question that’s on everyone’s mind, because this is where the definition of failure gets tricky.

 

What if I had set out to win?

What if I was competing to be in the top 1%?

What if it had been my goal to make it to the world championships?

And then what if I hadn’t?

What if I’d missed the mark?

Would I have failed?

 

And the answer is: only if I had tied my definition of success to bringing home the trophy.

 

The phrase “Your best will be just good enough,” isn’t an empty phrase.

It’s not the same as, “Show up and pick up your trophy.”

 

It’s about effort. About self-acceptance. About being totally honest with yourself.

Your best is about a refusal to compare your beginning to someone else’s middle, or your challenges to someone else’s strengths.

It’s about knowing where you stand and what you stand for.

Your best is about showing up for yourself, every single day.

 

And I can say now, with a fair amount of inner peace and some cautious optimism, that I do that pretty consistently. Because that’s my goal.

 

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I want the damn trophy.

Sometimes I want the client.

Sometimes I want the cash.

Sometimes I want the recognition.

Sometimes I want to win the race.

 

And when I don’t – when I fall short — I have to ask the hard question:

 

“Why did I lose?”

 

And if the answer is that I gave up, or gave in, or didn’t do what I said I’d do or I compromised my position… Well, then I failed.

 

And no amount of New York Super Fudge Chunk eaten under the covers while watching re-runs of Gilligan’s Island is going to change that. I have to get my ass out of bed and make sure it doesn’t happen again tomorrow.

 

But if the answer is that the other agency was better, or the client was looking for something else, or I am simply never going to be a fast runner, then I didn’t fail.

 

I didn’t win. But I didn’t fail.

 

And the solution is really the same. I have to get my ass out of bed and make sure it doesn’t happen again tomorrow. I can choose a new coach. I can embark on a new training plan. I can choose to run a different race all together.

 

Or I can change my definition of success.

 

What’s your definition of failure? Or success?

Are you failing every time you lose?

Or will your best be just good enough?

 

Share with me in the comments below.

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10 thoughts on “How Do You Deal with Failure?

  1. Allen says:

    Wonderful view it hit the mark pretty closely. I would add one thing “What did I learn?”. If I indeed finished what I started and did not get the trophy what can I take away from it that will make me better, will make me faster, will make me avoid the pitfalls that hindered me the last time around. Regardless of whether you call it failure or losing or participating you truly only failed if you came out of the experience the same as when you went in. Love your work and love you.

    Allen

    1. Julia Hook says:

      I love you, too, Big Al. And you are 100% correct about the learning. Thanks for always following along and cheering me on. Half the fun in racing is having loyal fans!

  2. Kent Stones says:

    I believe the challenge lies when we start judging any outcome as good or bad. Rather, simply step back from whatever happens and ask:

    Why did that happen?
    What did I learn?
    What new opportunities has this opened up?

    This mindset puts you in a continuous state of learning and growth. My dad once told me “Son, don’t get too excited when things go your way, and don’t get too unhappy if they don’t. Just be grateful you are alive to fight another day.”

    1. Julia Hook says:

      You’re absolutely right, Kent. Thanks so much for the insight. That topic of judgment is one for so much consideration. I’m grateful you’re here and sharing your wisdom.

  3. Jenna says:

    Juju, you are such a badass for completing your Half Ironman. What a huge accomplishment! Well done. I actually really love that you were almost last. It tells a great story about who you are and how you operate.
    To answer your question: My grandmother always said, “There’s no such thing as failure. There is just another chance to succeed.” She told me this from the time I was a little girl, anytime I was so frustrated that I wanted to give up. It’s a beautiful mindset shift. This would take my frustration and focus that energy on giving it another go. It’s actually a guiding principle for me.

    1. Julia Hook says:

      Hey, Jenna. Thanks for the nice compliment. I’m going to launch badassjuju.com within the next six months or so… And then we can all get into some badass stuff. Meanwhile, I love what your grandmother said. She’s a wise woman.

  4. Wendy says:

    Failure is such a strong powerful word, if I was to use that word in my daily vocabulary I would be failing everyday – I would fail in my parenting, my marriage, my relationships….for me there is no such thing as perfect and every time I make a mistake or fail, I dig deep and learn from my mistakes. Everything happens for a reason, so some failures in the moment are beyond bad – but then looking back I have that ah-ha moment and see the light – see where I can turn that mistake moving forward into a success. JuJu I am so blessed to have connected with you in your course – I have never taken an online course or had any type of coach. I had the traditional MBA from years ago – but I knew I needed to refresh my self and my brand, and your JuJu is working magic for me! Off to write up my Magnificent Vision!!

    1. Julia Hook says:

      Hey, Wendy. I love that you don’t use this word in your daily vocabulary. And the conversion of a failure into success is such a great take on life experiences. I’m really glad you joined Unforgettable U, and I’m so glad to get to see “Make It Happen” really happen!

  5. Liz says:

    This blog has so come at the right time JuJu and for me to step back and really take a look. In the last week I have been partying hard in the “self pitty party” as I did a presentation for my corporate role that did not go well. As I was told initially to “not f&^k it up” and to feel like I did, I have felt like a complete failure. The thing is – does the customer know what it was that I was wanting to say and how I wanted to say it? No. It is only me that knows that I did not perform it as I had practiced or imagined. But because I know that this PPT was a “make or break” to keeping one of our customers, I have felt like a failure because I feel like that I had a very important part to ensure to keep the customer. I was told “liz, it was not a disaster, but lets just call it a mishap” (which honestly made me feel like more of a failure!). But I have had to ask myself the hard question “why did I perform like that?”…..of which gave me back hard answers….and again reinforced my need to jump my career…. so.. time to get back to my Unforgettable You course 🙂 🙂

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