We LOVE Price Pritchett’s phenomenal little book “You2.” Whenever things get challenging for us and we’re really getting emotionally invested in a big project, dream or goal this brilliant piece of literature always reminds us how right on track we are.
We thought we’d share it with you because we know that the road to stretching yourself, spreading your wings and really soaring towards your dreams won’t always be peaches and cream. In fact a lot of the time it will feel like someone keeps knocking the peaches and the cream right out of your hand into the nice wet mud. Take this as a good sign, this a BIG step towards your goal.
It’s all part of the journey and Failure and Success go hand in hand. It really is just a state of perception, a mindset.
So what does failure mean to you after reading this?
This book is in our top 10 reads here at Matt and Nat Mindset.
To get your own copy of this little book click here
Seek Failure
Quantum leaps demand a willingness to make mistakes.
You cannot hole up in the safe zone of behaviour where you have beaten the odds of failing. An unwillingness to encounter defeat or run into problems outlaws quantum leaps. Unless you allow yourself to make mistakes, to fail, you will never have the opportunity to test the limits of what you truly are capable of accomplishing.
You must realise that if you’re experiencing no difficulties, problems, or pain, you probably have aimed too low. You’ve levelled off in your own growth and achievement. You probably are far from reaching your limits.
So think of problems or pain or slippage in performance as a positive sign. A performance lag ordinarily occurs at the very outset when you are making a quantum leap. It’s the pause during which you poise for the jump, the temporary loss of momentum that occurs in the process of “changing gears.”
You deliberately destabilise yourself when you break out of the habit patterns that represent the status quo. You create some inner chaos for yourself. So be prepared for the possibility of confusion, anxiety, and failure. That’s part of opening yourself to a new methodology that has the potential to deliver exponential performance gains.
So often in life, it seems things first get worse on the way towards getting better. Be prepared for that sort of development. Problems belong in the process. They are part of the equation that produces you2. They are not proof that your ambitions are futile or that you should give up.
As someone has said, “Everything looks like a failure in the middle.” You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room. If you send a rocket toward the moon, about ninety percent of the time it’s off course – it “fails” its way to the moon by continually making mistakes and correcting them.
At the outset you may feel high because going for a quantum leap is heady stuff. But then the hard reality of “problems” may slap you in the face. Progress often masquerades as trouble.
It’s easy to lose faith, because other people may withdraw their support and be critical of your efforts. That, plus your own anxieties and uncertainties, can tempt you to turn on yourself.
This is the crucial point in the process – don’t give up! Failure belongs here. It’s a sign of progress!
The stress will seduce you toward retreating to the “safety” of the status quo, the trap of the familiar. Just remember this: Failure does not mean you’re defeated.
Actually, the struggle gives you strength. It’s like tempering the steel, or the soreness involved in developing muscle. The difficulties are just evidence that you’re learning and progressing.
So go looking for failure… and then use it! Don’t interpret problems or breakdowns as proof that you should quit, but instead take them as evidence of your growth and improvement.
Failure is a resource. It helps you find the edge of your capacities.
This book is in our top 10 reads here at Matt and Nat Mindset.
To get your own copy of this little book click here
Expect the Best