I have a confession. I’m a perfectionist. I like things to be perfect when I am done doing them and have often wasted far more time than necessary to adjust a small detail that no one else will see. I have been frozen from action because of fear of failing and have let failure get the better of me when I’ve quit a project instead of giving it another try.
Yesterday a chapter title of the book I am reading spoke volumes to me. The book, No Greatness Without Goodness by Randy Lewis, is full of good advice and insightful observations. It tells the story of Randy’s journey as the parent of a special needs child alongside his growing awareness of the need for meaningful employment for those with disabilities. Randy’s position as Senior Vice President with Walgreens allowed him to develop a disability employment model in their distribution centers. Randy’s initial attempts to employ those with disabilities were met with varying degrees of success.
Failure is Just a Time-Out
Chapter 11 is titled Failure is Just a Time-Out. When I read the title, I felt like I didn’t need to read any further. For so long I have seen failure as the opposite of success. Either I succeeded or I failed. The thought that failure is a time-out changed my perspective. Failure doesn’t have to be the stopping point, but merely a step on the journey. I know the stories of people, such as Thomas Edison, who succeed after many, even thousands of tries. Somehow, I still saw failure as a discouraging stopping point.
Now I’m encouraged to view failure differently. If something doesn’t work as I hoped, it doesn’t have to mean the end. It can mean there is room to try something else. Randy says as much in the chapter: “Nobody likes failure. But the biggest danger in life—and in business—isn’t failure. It’s pretending that failure is the exception instead of what it really is: merely part of the process.”
Though Randy doesn’t talk specifically about time-outs in the chapter, I realize a time-out can be a tool. I tend to think of time-outs as punishment for not doing things right. For me they are most closely associated with disciplining children. From a different perspective, I see time-outs give the child a chance to step back and try again. They are less about punishment and more about assessing behavior and adjusting it.
Time-outs allow me to step back when results are not as stellar as I hoped and get an accurate picture of what has occurred. They provide time to evaluate results, research different strategies, seek input from others with more knowledge, and brainstorm new approaches. Again Randy states this well: “[E]ach time I’ve failed, I’ve found that failure is a teacher. It’s a fitness center for the soul. Success is constantly kissing up to us, telling us how great we are. Failure, in contrast, knocks us flat on our backs and says, “Welcome to the NFL.” Failure brings us back into the present moment as we catch our breath and brush ourselves off. It gives us pause to figure out what happened and what’s next. Time spent blaming the conditions or ourselves is better spent deciding whether it’s time to look for a way out or make an adjustment and keep going.”
I don’t have to do things perfectly the first time. From this new perspective, I can view failure as a step in the process. Failure does not have to be as big an obstruction as I have allowed it in the past. I will remember, “The willingness to fail is the first step toward success.”
Learn more about Randy at his website.
All excerpts from: Randy Lewis. “No Greatness without Goodness” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/ZJuZW.l