I am very active on social media, especially Twitter (feel free to connect) and I regularly view blog post after twitter post of how good it is to fail; that failure is essential for growth; that we should welcome failure with open arms. From the written words of so many, it seems that the only way we can succeed is to fail and fail and fail again. Einstein failed. Bill Gates failed. Henry Ford Failed. Gee, apparently even good ol’ Colonel Sanders failed!

Perhaps we should take a look at the definition of failure:

nonperformance of something due, required, or expected; lack of success.

So according to these definitions, failure is categorized by something not eventuating quite like we expected it. Disappointing, to say the least. Heartbreaking? Yes, at times. Devastating? For some people and for some time, yes it can be.

But my issue here is not whether failure is going to happen or not. We all know that as human beings we are doomed to fail, that is, we are not going to reach some level of expectation (whether self inflicted, or put on us by another) at some time in our lives and probably many times over. We are not, by any stretch of the imagination, perfect creatures. My issue is: Do we really need to get caught up in it all so much so that we start using it as an excuse for why we are not achieving our goals? Have we actually starting building failure into our psychology and life or business strategies as an essential ingredient for success?

Me personally put negative thinking and failure in the same basket – no room for either. We all acknowledge that at times they are going to be gremlins crawling around in the background there, but no need to give them any time of day.

I do not like failing. I don’t like the feeling that I have not achieved the standard that I have set for myself. I I feel sick when I disappoint someone else, especially a colleague or a client. So I avoid this kind of failure like the plague. I do not welcome it and I certainly do not expect it. And least of all, I do not build it into my life and business strategies…

People get uncomfortable when you decide to go for Great. There is always plenty of people telling you to accept the average. “Good enough” is a common expression amongst these types of people. They will give you ten reasons why you shouldn’t pursue your dreams (they don’t say it like that of course, and it’s always “well-meaning”), and very few reasons why you should. Its lonely at the top, but boy, what a view!!

 

I believe that in everything we do we should always strive for excellence. We should try and try again to go above and beyond what people expect of us in every way physically possible. I think it is honourable to pour your heart and soul into your work, and your relationships so much so that the last thing on your mind is an average achievement. Passion drives us towards excellence. Steady focus on an end result that blows the minds of the people around you and delivers a high level of personal satisfaction is what will draw you forward, motivate you through the drudge of every day mundane routine and pull you out into the zone of amazing.

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.

Colin Powell

If you can’t find the motivation for being amazing in your current situation, perhaps its time to choose something else. Simple. Failure is not an option. Mediocrity leads to failure. Focussing on and making constant allowances for failure leads to failure. Success is an attitude that we must develop and pursue in everything that we decide to do. In the words of my mum (God love her)… “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.”