The Truth About Your Failure

This morning, I did my usual routine. The alarm went off at 4:30, and I moseyed on down the stairs to grab a sip of water.

My wife was with our newborn, Deakan, on the couch. As I walked into the kitchen, he did a nasty burp.

Well played baby D, well played.

Then, I made my way down to the dining room, where I read “The Uncommon Life Daily Challenge” by Tony Dungy.

It’s a daily ritual. It sets my mind right for the rest of the day.

Today’s challenge from Tony really spoke to me. It was about failure… and how failure isn’t really a bad thing.

I know I have failed when I tried to lose weight before my final success of losing 105 pounds. Certainly you didn’t think I started and knocked it out of the ball park did you?

Ha, no way.

I hit plateaus. I got frustrated. In fact, the first day I exercised, I was exhausted after just completing one lousy lap around my old high school track.

This is personal, but honestly, I cried. I asked myself, “Is this even worth it? Am I really going to do this?”

Because after all, I tried a couple of things in the past that didn’t work for me. I even went on a low carb diet.

I actually lost about 20 pounds in less than 3 weeks…

… but I gained it all back PLUS some.

FAIL.

I’ve even failed as a trainer before. Heck, when I first started as a trainer, I used to tell my clients to do more cardio if they were struggling to lose weight. I didn’t know better. That was before I learned from people like Craig Ballanytne and Alwyn Cosgrove.

Hey, let’s get personal. I know there have been times when I could have been a better father.

Champ would want me to chase him around the house, yet I found myself on the laptop.

Fortunately, from that failure, I’ve learned to separate work and family.

See, “failure” is what makes us better. Failure tells us what’s NOT working so we can try something else.

Tony mentioned how Thomas Edison made many attempts at inventing a working lightbulb with setback after setback.

Yet, he was confident he hadn’t failed even once. He simply found ten thousand ways not to make a lightbulb.

Take a look at one my heros growing up…Michael Jordan. You know him as a six-time champion but watch this video:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

– Michael Jordan

So, no matter what your goal might be… losing love handles, gaining size, dropping a dress size, getting into your favorite jeans and more…

You’re going to FAIL. I know I did. That’s the cold, harsh truth.

Did you try intermittent fasting and it wasn’t your thing? Don’t be frustrated. You found one more way that isn’t right for you.

The truth is that you must keep going. You’re probably seeing this at your gym right now…people who have come in there at the beginning of January all amped up and ready to dominate 2013.

And now they are gone.

They soon realized that it takes hard work, commitment and sacrifice to reach a goal.

As soon as their “hands got a little dirty” and the results weren’t coming fast enough, they gave up.

Little did they know, that just around the corner was success.

That’s when most people throw in the towel. They are right there at the edge of ultimate success. If they just push a little further…

… but they don’t. They see failure and give up on themselves.

So, no matter what you’re struggling with, keep at it. Keep going. Keep finding ways that DON’T work until you find “it”.

There is no perfect solution for everyone. But there is something for you.

You are on the brink of success. I promise you. Trust me, I’ve been there…

Tony’s Uncommon Key was this:

“Remember that failure isn’t part of your identity; it’s simply part of your journey. If you have failed at something recently, jot down some of the lessons you learned from it and use them to persevere toward your goals.”

Look, I’m not the “motivational speaker” type, but for some reason, I was compelled to tell you this.

Just keep going – you’re almost there,
Mikey, CTT