Failure Fatigue #WILTW

This is the 109th #WILTW

On a daily basis there is a post on how the most successful people have always experienced a great deal of failure:

Failure

This week the BBC reminded us of J.K.Rowling’s Harvard Commencement speech

“I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.

They shared her famous tweet about the rejection of her initial books:

J K Rowling Tweet

It is reassuring to know that success isn’t an easy path but not everyone wants to be rich, a sporting superstar or part of the financial elite. However most of us have projects and ideas we would like to put into practice. So how long can you fail for before you decide what you are doing is never going to work?

What made Thomas “I’ve not failed I’ve just learnt a thousand ways that don’t work‘ Edison have that 1001st attempt? What is it that keeps you going when an new innovation spreads but yours just dissipates into the wind? What is that people have that enables them to climb out of the icy waters onto the top of the iceberg?

A close friend this week suddenly dropped into conversation, “Don’t give up on #WILTW. It might be hard work but keep it at.” I’d been reflecting on the numerous projects I’ve had that have nose dived without a trace. It has challenged me to draw out the things you need to do to protect yourself from failure fatigue.

Review – can you get an honest opinion. Does anyone else connect with your vision?

Reevaluate – what is the purpose of your project? Will it really deliver the outcomes you hope?

Revise – can you break down the project into smaller chunks and make the next steps more tangible or manageable?

Reenergise – do you have time for what you are doing or are you spending too much time on it. Is it time for a break?

What have you learnt this week? #WILTW

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Failure Fatigue

3 thoughts on “Failure Fatigue #WILTW”

  1. Another insightful reflection Damian. I read your #WILTW every week. I find them extremely useful to my own learning and reflection. Please keep it going.

  2. Thank you both.

    In retrospect I think the juxtaposition of the comments about WILTW and dealing with failure implied the post was solely about WILTW which wasn’t actually the intention (but it is nice to get this feedback!)

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