Have you ever wondered what you could do without being afraid to fail? How successful you could be if you were only focused on achieving your goals? If you pursued something with all the effort you had rather than worrying about others seeing you fail or the fact you might have to start over?
Well, I have.
There have been many times in my life (and specifically my fitness journey) that I have cared too much about failing that it took my focus off of succeeding. I worried about each misstep instead of each successful one. I looked at the three mess ups of the week rather than the 15 wins. And just from my experience with my own clients, I am sure many of you are like this too.
So What Should We Do?
Learn to be like a baby!
Stick with me here.
Have you ever watched a baby learn to walk? If you have, you know the process is filled with failures. It is filled with missteps. But, at least in my experience, I have never encountered an infant who failed to learn to walk. If anything, before you even realize they learned to walk they are already trying to run. Sometimes, quite literally, it seems like they learned overnight.
So, maybe we could learn a little something from them. From their determination. From the fact that billions of babies have set their mind on learning to walk (you and me included in these billions) and accomplished their goals. And don’t just take my word for it, look at the research!
The Research: Steps, Falls, and Relentless Progress
A 2012 study looked at crawlers and novice walkers. The study involved 151 infants (72 girls, 79 boys) aged 11.8 to 19.3 months old. Researchers observed the infants in a laboratory playroom filled with furniture, varied ground surfaces, and toys. Infants' movements were recorded using a hand-held camera.
While they reported a lot of cool findings (check out the full article below), two specific findings stuck out to me:
1. The infants took an average of 2,368 steps per hour.
2. The infants fell 17 times (on average) per hour.
More simply put, they walked a ton (imagine if you walk 2k steps an hour), messed up a ton, got up even more, and kept walking more.
They couldn’t care less about their failures because they wanted to walk—and no amount of mess ups was going to stop them!
The Self-Reflection We Need
It’s crazy when we think about ourselves and how one missed workout or one untracked meal can set off the rest of our week. How one bad day of eating can turn into seven. How one failure can distract us from the six earlier successes.
And if this is you, that is okay. It is me too and likely a lot of us.
So, let’s agree to change that right now. Agree to focus on the goal and not the failure. To learn to get right back up when we fall.
Maybe the next time you set your sights on a goal you stop worrying about the failures and just keep chasing the target!
Next Time You Fall (I Mean Fail)
Think about the babies. Think about those little champs falling 10, 15, 20 times every hour and getting right back up. Think about their joy when they are able to put three steps together in a row.
And do the same for yourself:
- Smile when you succeed at something.
- Get back up and start over when something goes wrong.
- Give 110% on success instead of failure.
In a short period of time, you might even shock yourself with the success you can have.
Want to learn more about how working with a LVLTN coach can improve your health? Let's get you on a free consult call. Learn more by clicking here!
Reference:
Adolph, K. E., Cole, W. G., Komati, M., Garciaguirre, J. S., Badaly, D., Lingeman, J. M., ... & Sotsky, R. B. (2012). How do you learn to walk? Thousands of steps and dozens of falls per day. Psychological Science, 23(11), 1387–1394.
.jpg)
.jpg)