Not Failing is Not Giving Up
You never fail if you don’t quit. Successful people don’t look at failure the same as others. To them there is no real thing as failure. Tony Robbins, self-help guru, says if you don’t like the results, change the strategy. Startup businesses say they want to fail fast to learn quicker.
“Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” are the words of basketball star Michael Jordon. What he means is that ups and downs in your plans should not derail your commitment to succeed. A guru to the real estate industry said you can tell your level of commitment by the results. If you didn’t get the results, you were not committed.
Where is the Dividing Line of Continuing or Giving Up
I have seen so many activities where people not committed gave up right away. I used to run 60 miles a week. People wanted to come out and run with me. They would run a quarter mile and say it was too tough. I would tell them it is much easier after a week. I used to mountain bike. When I couldn’t make a hill in one climb, I knew I had to practice until I had more strength and stamina and then come back. If you were not committed to improving, you might just quit or stay with the easier stuff.
I teach surfing and it can be tough to learn if you lack some of the necessary physical qualities. Some say too tough and they never try again. Some are willing to do the necessary physical changes to improve including learning the techniques.
How Important is Commitment?
Commitment is the first step to getting through the barriers. How bad do you want something? I have people at the top of my must have been committed list. Taylor Swift at 14 was visiting record producers in Memphis looking for a production deal. Some said we will look for an artist to sing your songs. She said only I am going to sing my songs. It worked out.
Do I have to mention Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Steven Jobs, or Tom Brady to see how many people faced great odds to becoming successful and achieving results. Do we think they did not face obstacles? What drives and sustains successful people’s efforts?
I like to return to Simon Sinek’s book Why. He said great leaders ask his people why we are doing what we are doing. That is a good question and sometimes the answer arises after we are already doing it. When I first started running for fun in high school, I was only running a mile and at that time, jogging was not a popular phenomenon. I figured it was for exercise and other than that, I didn’t know why I was doing it. It was sort of a let’s try it and see what happens.
Then I built to three mile runs in college and five mile runs after college. By then I had lots of reasons why I was doing it. It became easy. I felt great. I was definitely in good condition. It was body trimming. It relieved stress. I started eating better and becoming more nutrition conscious. I could do more things like skiing all day. It became part of who I was as an identity.
What Are Your Commitments?
What’s happening in your life? What are your commitments. For which things do you have a passion? Which activities require a lot of effort and you’re questioning the value of engaging? What activities or goals would you like to start and are having a hard time making the first step.
My friend at 70 years of age wanted to climb to base camp Whitney at 17,500 feet elevation. He was not in good shape. Another friend and I are active hikers and have done a lot of altitude hikes warned him he wouldn’t get above 10,000 feet. The hike required he climb for about 8 days of up to 7 hours a day. He started walking four miles a day and built to 20-mile hikes. He had altitude sickness on his ascent of Everest at 10,000 feet but persisted. He made it. That is commitment.
Why do you want to do something? It had better be a strong why if it is going to be difficult with lots of obstacles. The other way to go is engaging in something for which you have passion and the passion will take you beyond your expectations. A third way is to develop skills in some activity and soon you will develop the passion to continue. It might become addicting at which point you are fully committed, and it becomes you.
Video game designers create games in which the participants drop into flow. They are fully engaged and the world melts away. This is why they engage for 5 hours at a time. There is a freedom from all other worries or thoughts. This is why extreme athletes risk their lives, for the bliss they experience in their experience from all the happiness brain chemicals firing at once.
I know now that if I am not going to be passionate about an activity, I won’t have the commitment to get through the obstacles. This is a good turning point. Do I continue or do I quit? Am I willing to suffer some defeats as I try to learn? Do I want the result bad enough to suffer some on the way?
If you can’t pass a few of these good questions, perhaps it is better you redirect your efforts to something with a better pay off for yourself.
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As a Thriving Worker Consultant, I can engage in conversations with employers on how to begin the process of helping workers thrive and reach peak performance. It begins with a conversation to see how far an organization is willing to go to change the culture for workers.
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