Use Your Failures as Fuel 🔥

Failure and success.

I’ve talked about these concepts before.

And just so we are on the same page – the definition of “concept” is ‘an abstract idea; a general notion.’

It is literally something someone made up. It is something that is GENERALLY believed.

And I must say now because I don’t know if I’ve said it before…

We are not general people.

People who continue to strive to be better, who read these emails to get a possible shift in perspective, a pick-me-up, or a new idea to think about and try out.

This also means that the concepts of failure and success do not mean the same things to us as they are believed by the general public. (Because we can make them up too!)

A few days ago, I felt a loss. I put myself out there in a way and didn’t get the response that would generally deem it as a success. And I realized that for me to be down about this one particular situation for almost any amount of time would be pointless.

(Side note: Still feel those feelings. They’re there for a reason. Explore them, see where they’re coming from. But don’t give them the power they’re asking for, to slow you down and keep you safe so you won’t put yourself out there again.)

So, I decided after this “loss” I faced I would now use as fuel to keep me going on my path.

Imagine this:

You decide to go on a journey and take a road trip. You have your starting point, your general destination, and a full tank of gas, but here’s the caveat – you can only refill your gas tank by the fuel that comes from any losses or failures on your journey.

“Ha! That sounds kind of crappy! The only way I can get to my destination is if I fail and lose many times on the journey??”

Yes. But let’s remember the other side of the coin.

Success.

What does success mean? Is the definition of success in this scenario the destination? We are only successful if we reach our destination? Hmmm… no.

The definition of success is HAVING the fuel in your tank to get you to your destination.

And the only way for that to work on a consistent basis is if you can learn how to change your perspective and reaction around failures and losses.

If you come across a failure, do you see it as “Well, this is it. I can’t go any further.”

Or do you say “This failure is teaching me something about myself and I am going to use all of the wisdom and experience from this and allow it to fuel me as I travel forward.”

If you haven’t put 2 and 2 together yet, this scenario mirrors LIFE. (I feel like you got it 😉)

These concepts that we know as failure and success literally mean what we make them mean.

Failure is a learning opportunity. Success is the ability to keep going on your journey and if you are still breathing, it is always available to you.

Like I mentioned in my email about Dora the Explorer a couple weeks ago – it’s all about the experience and us picking and choosing parts that will help us move forward in healthy and momentous ways.

I failed in the way that I forgot my lines but I was successful in the way that I actually got on stage and tried.

This failure will continue to fuel my future opportunities for the stage.

These concepts that I present to you today are still concepts. They’re still ideas that have been made up by myself and other teachings and wisdom I’ve been influenced by. But I can almost guarantee these concepts of success and failure are healthier than a typical, general lose or win scenario.

And this is a practiced way of thinking!

It is a pathway that has been built in our heads for every time a failure or loss happens – we can either go on one pathway, sulk in it, hold ourselves back due to external circumstances or we can choose a different pathway and gain that experience, wisdom, and fuel to keep moving forward.

If you fail, use it as fuel. And remember that when you have the fuel to keep going – you are already successful.

“The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama

Is there something you’ve “failed” at recently that can give you fuel to move forward? What are you fueling up for?

Feel free to send a reply and share with me!

Talk to you next week…
Shay ♥️

P.S. New Level Up! With Shay episode was released yesterday! Have you given it a listen? The Importance of Taking A Break – Share it to your Instagram story and tag me @levelupwithshay!

Please share with anyone who you think would get value from this. I’d love your help to spread the message.

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