Failure Isn’t Fatal: Starting Well, Starting Over – TPW028

Sometimes our best-laid plans don’t pan out. Failure can either paralyze us or propel us into growth and new beginnings. This week we consider some thoughts about how to recover–and learn–from failure.

Tool of the Week:

The “Clean Computer Calendar” from SingleHop offers a simple plan for cleaning up and organizing your computer hard drive. The calendar from the cloud computing company includes tips for organization, prioritization and backing up data on a private cloud. You can download your own copy here.

How Has Your Year Started?

Have you accomplished what you had in mind for the first month of the year? Do you feel like you’re on track? Maybe, like me, you need to make a few adjustments to the plan. Goals and objectives are almost always works in progress, and it’s never too late to adjust and start fresh. Every day is a new beginning. Check out Mike Vardy’s post on why he starts his new year on Ground Hog Day–he makes a great case for starting fresh when you want to, not when the calendar says the new year (or month or week) begins.

Failing Forward?

As I recorded this episode the world is still analyzing, dissecting, talking about the last 30 seconds of Super Bowl XLIX, when the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, tried an unexpected play that led to a pass interception at the goal line and their loss by 4 points. One decision, one pass, 2 seconds–the course of the game changed and they went from near-certain victory to spectacular and very public defeat, a failure witnessed by more than 100 million people.

Don’t we all have a moment or two in our lives we’d like to relive and do differently? Sometimes a split-second event or a seemingly small choice can make the difference between success and failure. We don’t usually get do-overs, but mistakes and failures don’t have to ruin our lives. There are a few things we can do to gain something positive from failure.

• Take a breath, and get some perspective. (At least we can be grateful that our failures likely won’t be witnessed by 100 million people!)
• Let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling.
• Stop beating yourself up! Nobody’s perfect. Cliché, but true.
• Stop looking for someone to blame.
• Look for the lesson–and get some supportive but honest feedback from someone you trust.

Sometimes the lesson we learn from failure is that we’re stronger than we know.

No matter how spectacular our failure, today is a new day. We can’t change the past, but we can make a better future.

What do you think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or email me!

Thank You for the Kind Words

Thank you to listener Sarah Louise Baggott from “across the pond” for her encouraging note on The Productive Woman’s Facebook page, and to author Anne Mateer for her wonderful blog post about The Productive Woman.

How Can I Help You?

I’d love to come to your women’s event, retreat, group meeting, etc., to talk about productivity or other topics of interest to your group. Email me or call me at 972.638.0308, and let’s discuss it!

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