The Road to Failure

The road to failure is paved with good intentions. This is particularly true of new year’s resolutions. For some reason, the start of a new year signals the need to be a new person. Facebook is littered with public declarations of how we are going to lose weight, be healthier, be kinder, be more environmentally friendly, be more active … and the list goes on.

By the end of January, many have joined a gym, signed up for various classes, created a schedule for visiting neglected relatives and have recycling bins in full operation. Then the enthusiasm waxes and wanes and all the good intentions are slowly forgotten. 

The reason we fail is manifold, but we think these are the top 10.

Setting the bar too high – this is often down to over-enthusiasm or unrealistic goal setting. Try and aim for achievable goals and then build on that. Failure tends to dampen your get-up and go, and giving-up is all too easy. You need to be realistic in your goal setting, and then you will succeed – there is nothing like success to make you want more.

All or nothing approach – you know the one, I’ll succeed, or I’ll die trying. That resolution won’t last, or it won’t last long. You can’t go from a standing still position to an all-out sprint and then sustain that for the coming year. You’ll strain something or get exhausted. Work-up to your target with baby-steps, then you’re more likely to stay the course.

Fear of failure – you think you’re going to fail one too many times, so you do. It’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy. Believe in yourself and keep going. You are where you are today because of the long road of doing what you do now. That doesn’t mean you can’t change but believe in yourself, make a few changes and pat yourself on the back every time you make progress.

You see this as a task and forget to enjoy the process – enjoy the changes you’re are making, and to ensure you do, choose things you like doing rather than those you think you must do. No one ever sticks to something they hate doing. They get fed-up and can’t sustain the motivation. So, take a minute and decide what you like doing, and then adapt that, whether it’s walking the dog, losing weight or socialising. All of those can be adapted to give you a healthier, happier lifestyle. 

It’s a marathon, not a sprint – It’s pointless aiming at instant success because the new healthier, happier you need to last a lifetime. So, see it that way. Make permanent, but small changes and like the tortoise, you will win the race. The hare is going crazy and will burn-out and probably never try again because it was all too hard. It’s the race of a happier, healthier life, not a one minute wonder.

A lack of support for your goals – It isn’t very easy for others to share your enthusiasm for your new year resolutions. So often we view their lack of interest as a lack of support and feel unloved and unsupported, usually for a very worthy goal. It’s important that you believe in yourself. After all, you are the one that will reap the rewards, and you have to make that enough. So, look forward, make time and go for your own personal goals. 

You are the victim of failure – you’ve been here before, and you’ve done your best, but still failed. Failure is a hard pill to swallow, but if you decide it’s an opportunity to learn lessons, then you can look at failure as a positive rather than a negative. Don’t fear failure or you will be concentrating on that, rather than how to succeed. There is a famous saying – “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” 

Don’t forget why – people often decide they must achieve something, but forget why they chose to do it in the first place. So, write your reasons why on a piece of paper and put it somewhere where you can see it every day. Then when you feel downhearted, your energy drops or your resolve weakens, look at why you decided to embark on the challenge you have set yourself and re-invigorate your will to succeed.

You are going it alone – It’s tough to stay motivated every day when the only one cheering you on is you. People who joining clubs or groups that have the same or similar goals are more likely to succeed. You want to show the group that you are staying the course, and they cheer you on when you do. You look forward to reaching your goals, and you return the favour by cheering them on too.

You forget to celebrate your success – continually striving to achieve an ultimate goal without celebrating your successful steps along the way is soul-destroying. The goal looks so far away, and you are trying so hard every day. You’ll run out of energy and enthusiasm before you get to your goal as it seems just too hard. So, stop from time to time and recognise just how far you have come and what you have achieved. Then set off again knowing you can do this. Maybe put a chart on the wall and mark of your progress and when you are going to celebrate your success and give yourself a well-earned pat on the back.

A great way to support your journey to any goal is to celebrate by doing something fun and exciting, and the only place to get a choice of all the available activities in the UK and Ireland is Geronigo®. Download the Geronigo® App, and you will have all those activities right there on your phone to access instantly at any time.

Good luck in the year ahead, and may you succeed in all you do.

By CJ