Don't Trip Over What's Behind You
The serving size of Oreos is two Oreos and failure is part of success. It took me a long time to accept both of those things. Failing sucks. It's embarrassing, the ego takes a hit, and it makes you question whatever it is that you are doing and why you are doing it. In the moment the urge will be to escape it but in reality, what we should all be doing is living in it. Feeling the failure if you will. It's part of developing a mental toughness that you'll need to survive the working world. By the way, no one tells you about that part of working, do they? People are super mean for no reason! Especially in the Cannabis Industry where the bitter battle between love of money and love of the plant rages on with no end in sight. That’s why it's so important early on in your career - not to be your toughest critic so to speak- but to understand your failures better than anyone else does. The old adage of “get yourself before anyone else can get you” fits well here for me.
So how do you not run and hide when you know something isn’t working out right? "Actively Failing" is how I describe it. Its much like watching the ice cream melt off a cone directly onto the burning hot pavement on a summer day. First and foremost, take a step back and be proud for doing whatever you failed at. Failing means you tried which is a lot more than most. That’s the most important piece to remember every time you fail. Take a deep inhale of that sweet ol’ narcissism for a brief moment because you will need it as you inspect what you did wrong. For me, this was really hard to do. A lot of my failures come from thinking I knew what I was doing when I didn't. A bit of overconfidence if you will. -Everyone who knows me is reading and nodding. Stop it! - I really had to slow everything down and be open to the thought that some things we do in life are for the practice of it all. We’re talking about PRACTICE. Wow, I can’t believe I was able to make that reference in a blog. Shoutout Allen Iverson and the 2002 Boston Celtics for the now imfamous press conference. Kyle from second period ninth-grade history class is smiling right now. That one is for you, buddy.
You’ll want ease into this practice as it can be a mentally challenging one- don’t be too hard on yourself it’s about learning and growing stronger - Start with the good, what did I do well and what worked out as planned? That’s something we all forget. Failures have their bright spots too. Think about how you can make those bright spots even brighter. Its about improvement even when things are good they can always be great. Find the good in the wreckage and make it shine.
Next, Its time to be a little tougher on yourself :( and ask what could I have done differently? What really didn’t work and why didn’t it work? This is hard. The hardest. Its all about removing your personal feelings and remembering that its not an attack on you but an opportunity to be better. In doing this, you can avoid making the same mistakes in the future and be better prepared for similar situations. Understand that progress is rarely linear and that setbacks will happen. It's okay if you don't get it right the first time, or the second, or even the third. Success takes time and effort, and often involves a lot of trial and error. It's essential to not be overdramatic, remember that failure is not the end of the road. Even Drake released Tootsie Slide. Use your failure as fuel for growth and development. Examine them to the point that you feel ownership over that failure. Pick it apart. Know it better than anyone. Then adjust.
Adjusting is the fun part. It’s the part where you get your power back and get to show up and show off. You spent some time examining what’s wrong, working on it, and now it’s time to show what you have learned. And I am going to tell you something about this step that you're not going to like. You may fail at the same thing multiple times. I know its the worst but each time you fail, you gain something. Its not a throw away bet. You can take something from it each time. It's getting comfortable with it where the power lies.
Its not an easy practice to look deeply at your failures but its an important one for being successful. You’ll come out stronger in the end by knowing your weaknesses better than anyone.
Own your mistakes. Learn from them. Make them yours.
