Winners Never Quit: Transforming Temporary Failures into Lasting Success
“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop” — Confucius
Successful people don’t stop.
They run into failures. But these failures are temporary. It’s only permanent if you take yourself out of the fight. Winners just don’t quit.
They persevere.
Embracing the Resilient Mindset
Never quitting is easier said than done.
Failures suck. They show us that we don’t have what it takes. This is self-defeating talk. No one’s a bigger critic of ourselves, than ourselves. Most would quit after a sobering self-talk.
The winners chalk up failure to a learning point. Nothing more.
A failure is a data point. It’s information that says “hey, maybe this isn’t the way to do it… but keep pushing and find alternative ways of solving this problem…”
A failure just tells you to look at alternatives.
It’s not telling you to quit. Only negative self-talk does that.
What if Edison listened to negative self-talk?
We wouldn’t have light bulbs if it weren’t for Edison’s tenacity.
He failed thousands of times during his attempt to make the electric lightbulb. But he saw failures not as bad things. They were good things. He could narrow down what worked by excluding what he confirmed didn’t work.
He saw failures as data points.
We can all benefit from taking on this view.
The Art of Handling Failures
Reflecting on the past, it’s easy to think this way. It’s easy to zoom out and see failures for what they truly are- data points.
But it’s tougher to take on this view as you’re experiencing the failure. I still can’t get out of my own head and zoom out. Working on this.
All I can say, is that it takes practice.
Everything (every failure, success, etc…) is a learning opportunity.
You either win, or you learn. There is no failure.
The True Cost of Quitting
Giving up and quitting is the only true failure.
The older I get, the more I realize that I’m not racing or competing with anyone else but myself. Of the times I’ve quit, I did so because I compared myself to others.
It bears repeating: “comparison is the thief of joy.”
The only way to take an otherwise great outcome and turn it into a negative outcome is by comparing.
You’re comparing yourself to someone who’s further along in the journey. That’s not a fair comparison.
But your mind doesn’t make that distinction.
The true cost of quitting is regret.
Cultivating Persistence
The best way to nurture persistence is to practice. And reflect.
Just go about your life as usual. The only difference is reflect and write about how you handled the day’s problems.
Be kind to yourself. Most times, you’ve persisted. But, like me, you pay attention to the failures more than the successes.
Kindness is a productive virtue. But we’ve only shown that towards others. It’s rare that we show it to ourselves.
We’d be much better off being kind to ourself.
Keep Pushing Towards the Goal
Perseverance is the key differentiator between temporary failure and lasting success.
Embrace your failures and keep pushing toward your goals.
“Every setback is a setup for an even greater comeback.”
Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog
