Does the phrase “I fail at everything!” sound familiar? Some people have become attached to failing. Being a failure has become part of your identity. Failure gives you something to talk about. Failure attracts attention to you. Failing actually benefits you when you look at it in those ways.
Are you ready to change your relationship to failure?
Are you ready to break the cycle of setting goals and not succeeding?
Here’s how. It’s simple. In fact, it is so simple you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to succeed.
Commit to and complete an action for your goal that is so small you CANNOT fail.
If you want to be more active, start by walking five minutes today.
If you want to start a business, start by brainstorming what is important to you for your new business.
If you want to write a book, start with brainstorming one character.
If you want to find more peace, start by taking three deep breaths once a day.
Or, in my photo, when I rode down the coast of California for the Challenged Athletes Foundation fundraiser, I started with cycling just a few miles in a day and grew my strength to ride 620 miles over seven days over the course of six months!
Our egos love to keep us safe and will find a million reasons for you to stay in what is familiar. By taking an itty bitty step toward your dream, your ego has nothing to defend. This means there will be less resistance for you to fight through and inner critic will quiet down.
It is also easy to be paralyzed in fear when thinking about a goal that seems so hard or so far away. By taking smalls steps towards your dream, you start to see progress reducing the fear of how you will ever accomplish something so important to you. It will also increase your confidence making it easier to take bigger steps as you go.
Just think, after a year of taking itty bitty actions every day you will complete 365 things towards your dream.
Do you know how much can happen with 365 steps?!?
You made it this far reading so I know you are ready to start the new year with success. Instead of setting unrealistic goals that will fizzle out and leave you feeling like a failure, do something so small you cannot fail and see how you sail!!!
P.S. Here is an interview I did with the YMCA’s Dr. Jonathon Collopy on how I coach people to success with practical tools you can use.