Self

5 Blunt Reasons You're Not #Winning At Life (The Problem Is YOU!)

Photo: weheartit
Why You're Not Finding Happiness In Life

#Winning at life!! Is that you? If not, put the blame for failure where it really belongs  with you  and then see what happens.

I confess. I, myself, have been failing.

Failing to, truly, be productive.
Failing to, wholly, be in my relationship.
Failing to, unconditionally, be the captain of my own ship.

It's become so much easier to blame outside circumstances and others for everything, from the lack of money to lack of time — they're all the reasons life isn't completely peachy keen. My life! The one that I'm in charge of living 

Does this sound familiar?

Ever find yourself backed against the wall of failure? Stuck in the mud of "some day", seeking happiness (but not creating it), and wishing that something (anything) could whisk you away?

Well, you're not alone!

As author, Haruki Murakami says,"Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional." Personally, I've decided to take her up on that sound advice — it's time to accept that the pain of failure is inevitable, but the suffering I inflict upon myself, surrounding failure, is ridiculous and over-rated.

Here are 5 hard-to-hear (but straight up honest) reasons your mindset is the cause of your failures; plus, the truths you must embrace about failure if you ever want to reach that proverbial pot 'o gold at the end of the "success" rainbow.

1. You're living for others, instead of yourself! Contrary to popular belief, doing for yourself is not entirely selfish … it's healthy. When we give of ourselves, to ourselves, it becomes much easier to give freely to others.

It simply takes a shift in perspective to say,"I'm giving freely to myself in a healthy, non-egotistical manner, so that I don't resent giving to everyone else first without having a sliver of self left for little old me!"

2. Your definition of "failure" and "success" are EPICALLY misguided. We've all heard the phrase,"blind leading the blind!" Truth is, you're probably leading yourself down hazy, obscure, and unrealistically defined paths of failure and success.

Are your definitions of failure and success fully aligned with your values, beliefs, and the truest essence of who you are? If not, you might want to put those two words back under the microscope and redefine them aligned, more closely, with YOUR values (no one else's).

3. You haven't started with "why?" I'm not trying to steal Simon Sinek's thunder, but the man knows what he's talking about when he says,"Start with 'why!'" If you don't know WHY failure and success weigh heavily on your psyche, heart, and soul then your simply allowing un-tethered feelings to run amuck. You have to un-muddle the muddled, and sift through the mud to get to the "real deal" answers as to why success and failure drive you to do what you do ... in life, love, and every other aspect of life, including business and career.

4. Your inner-"drama queen" is ALWAYS in the house! Yes, we all have one (so don't lie)! Our inner-"drama queen" is that alter ego that likes to make mountains out of molehills. You know, the ones that stamp their heels on the floor incessantly, eyes tightly shut, crying,"I've failed, I've failed, I've failed"  all the while stopping between beats to peak out of the eye slits, to see if anyone is paying any attention to you.

If it requires drama for you to announce you've failed, then the likelihood that you failed in a big way is probably more made up than real. Here's the "drama queen" test: If you've failed and you don't have knots in your stomach, find yourself afraid to look people in the eyes, your heart isn't racing, and you're not having to stutter the words, then your failure is more likely an attempt to get attention. Just saying!

5. You've cried wolf one too many times. Honestly, hearts break when someone fails. It's not pretty when you genuinely fail at something that, for all intents and purposes, you were certain you'd be successful. Admit it  the feeling sucks!

However, the first cousin to "drama queen" is the person who cries wolf, and this ain't no fairy tale. No one (OK, maybe the secret league of "Let's Cry Wolfers"), enjoys being called into pains of false sympathy. It's exhausting, nerve-racking, and down right annoying to always be around someone who's knickers are perpetually weighed down by a fresh, large load of FAILURE.

At this point, you're probably experiencing one of these feelings:  

  • You're in full agreement with at least one, if not, all five of the reasons listed above and you're ready to take steps to get out of the rut.
  • Your denial, which runs deep, has set in and you're feverishly Googling my name — trying to figure out where I live, so you can hunt me down and rebuff me to a pulp, in order to successfully avoid the real truth of your failures.
  • You remain in a complete state of confusion about what you've read and, therefore, need to re-read it a couple hundred more times to ensure you comprehend the five reasons you're failing at everything.

Truth is, where you stand is completely up to you  in your heart, mind and soul — no matter where you fall on the roads of failure or success. Just remember, where you stand in, both, failure and success is a choice … a choice of how you define, react, and move through life.

If failure and success aren't playing nicely in the playground of your life, then get in the game and carve out some time in your sandbox for a complimentary coaching session to see how you can leverage failure to bring you more success in life, love, and career.