If there’s one thing that makes every one of us uncomfortable, it’s experiencing failure. And everyone is on a quest to learn how to deal with failure. Not only does failure strip us of achieving something we desire, it strips us of our pride. It leaves us in one of the most vulnerable states we can experience—weak, uncertain, and frightened to make any sudden movements toward achieving another goal.
But failure doesn’t have to be something you view as a negative. There are ways you can deal with failure and let it propel you forward in your journey of self-discovery. Over the course of years (and many failures), I’ve developed a system to help you extract the positives when you come up short. This system will strip you of the fear of failure because it will set you up with the resources you need to not let any failure set you back.
Meet growth hacking failure.
What Is Growth Hacking Failure?
Growth hacking failure does not require new technical skills, superpowers, or years of experience. I’ve already done the legwork for you so you could benefit from a failure-proof system. All it requires of you is your mindset and the willingness to exist outside your comfort zone.
Growth hacking failure is a system to help you deal with failure and use failure to your advantage. If you follow this system and process, you will begin to see that your failures can help you grow and become a better person; they won’t beat you down like you have experienced in the past.
Dealing With Failure Through the Growth Hacking Method
Growth hacking failure is built on three principles, which will make dealing with failure much easier. First, switch the lens you see failure through. Second, don’t take it personally. Third, uncover your lesson and adjust.
Is dealing with failure really that simple? Yes. Have most people overcomplicated coping with failure? Absolutely. Can failure result in growth spurts? 110%. So, although failure is far outside of most people’s comfort zones, you can use this system as a tool to put failure in life on your side.
Let’s dive into the three principles of growth hacking failure.
1. Switch the Lens You See Failure Through
Failure sucks when you see it as a negative. It eats you alive, pushes you backward on your journey, and sometimes even keeps you from chasing your wildest dreams. It’s a wild beast, but luckily there are ways you can learn how to handle failure.
The first step in growth hacking failure is making a conscious effort to shift your mindset around it. You need to decide that you will look at failure through a new lens and embrace a new perspective. Sure, failure can be devastating and unencouraging, but truthfully, it’s only such if you believe it to be.
Failure brings lessons, it brings eye-opening experiences and epiphanies, and it brings the resources you need to continue down your path and thrive outside your comfort zone.
What I am saying is this: As soon as you choose to view failure as a positive, you will experience its plethora of gifts. It’s easy (and common) to think of failure and immediately have a sour taste in your mouth. But right now marks the end of that in your life.
It’s time you switch the lens you see failure through and learn how to get over failure. It’s time for it to no longer stop you in your tracks and instead, push you forward. Don’t worry about failure stealing your life force; it’s there to teach you what you need to know to continuously grow.
2. Don’t Take Failure Personally
When you come up short, it’s easy to stuff your mind with negative and self-sabotaging thoughts. I’m not good enough. I’ll never be successful. These thoughts are dangerous, and they’ll quickly take over your life and rip your vitality out of your hands.
It’s crucial to deliberately choose to not let failure impact you on a personal level and focus on failure management. You must remove your ego from a moment of failure and not beat yourself up over it. What’s done is done. Dwelling on it and hitting yourself over your head is not going to do you any good. Don’t waste your energy with that BS.
If you come up short, give yourself a few minutes to blow some steam off, but that’s it. As a matter of fact, Tiger Woods has a 10-step rule in golf. If he hits a bad shot and fails at the tee box, he gives himself 10 steps to be upset about it, then he moves on. He recognizes what happened, makes any adjustments needed, and moves forward. So, give yourself a few minutes or walk 10 steps, but after that, don’t take it personally. Don’t let it consume you.
Failure happens to all of us. You’re not the only person that goes through this uncomfortable part of life. When it happens, it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t feed your mind negative thoughts, and don’t let failure derail you from your path. Take your 10 steps, look for the lesson, and gain the ability to move from failure to failure with ease and grace.
3. Uncover Your Lesson and Adjust
If you can switch your perspective on failure and not take it personally, you’ll find that there are life-changing lessons in a moment where you come up short. That’s the secret to dealing with failure; if you can uncover your lesson and adjust, you’ll be able to use that knowledge to help you progress on your journey and avoid making a similar mistake moving forward.
Failure is the teacher we never wanted but always needed. It might push you to the ground, but if you’re willing to look for the lesson or for an opportunity to improve, it will lift you up. Oddly enough, the more you fail, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more you grow.
Bottom Line
Now is it all starting to make sense? Do you see how society has tricked you into believing that failure should be one of your biggest fears? The fear that holds you back from growing into the best version of yourself and discovering who you were always meant to be? I’m here to teach you that failure can be on your side if you want it to be. If you growth hack failure, you can let it serve you instead of you serving it.
Failing doesn’t have to be a permanent setback; it doesn’t mean you’re a failure at life. Yeah, it might stop you in your tracks, make you feel like you’ve run into a giant brick wall that will never let you move forward, and completely tear you apart, but that’s normal, expect that. However, it’s temporary. Let it be temporary.
Failure makes you feel shitty, we all know that. But let it fuel you. Allow it to give you the motivation to go back and try 10 times harder. Give it the chance to serve you in ways you never knew failure could serve.
Are you ready to embrace failure? Let me know in the comments below.
