Preparing To Succeed

I don’t think fear of failure is a great way to motivate, because your emphasis is on failure. We need to prepare to be successful. Coach Bill Self

I found this quote today while reading the Jayhawk’s preview for the game tonight. Kansas has lost in the first round in the tournament the last two years and Self was frustrated by all the questions that wasn’t related to this years team. The point is universal. If I continually watch the ditch then I’ll eventually drive into it. It reminds me of a movie I watched as kid where a famous tight-rope walker was going to walk across some tall buildings. It was a true story. This was a routine event but he was overly concerned about falling and as the story goes he fell to his death.

It is important to consider all angles to an issue with a mindset of success. You think about it. You plan for it. I work with kids a lot that have dealt with extreme, gargantuan disappointment. They expect to fail. They don’t believe that things will work out for them so they give up trying. They are paralyzed and cannot face their fears. So I encourage them to be mindful of the challenges and then throw out their exit strategy. The Roman Empire was great because Alexander would redesign his armor when he got injured. But he never put any armor on his back.

I am not talking about unrealistic and idealistic mish-mash. Wisely preparing for success is the key. It is an attitude – a shift in focus that makes all the difference.