success Archives - The Goalden Lady

Forgive Yourself And Grow

We never think to forgive when things go bad. Often times, our first instinct is to point the finger. We always bend towards the side of blame, in fear of being held wrongly accountable for whatever happened.

When things go wrong, no one wants to feel that pain or hold that burden. Handing it off to someone else gives us a temporary feeling of relief and comfort.

Instead of placing the fault on someone else (or yourself), try the opposite – forgive yourself and see it as an opportunity to grow.

Forgive Yourself And Others

This is a simple practice, but no one talks about it. Forgiving yourself is a key moment that allows you to grow. There’s no growth in avoiding responsibility.

Yes, we talk about taking responsibility, even when it’s not your fault. This is to move on, so you won’t be stuck and stagnant. Things happen, but someone has to have the courage to push things forward, even if the next step isn’t too clear.

Let’s take it beyond that – forgiving yourself. There are things that have happened in your life that you wish you could do differently. You blame yourself, but how do you move on from that?

Most people don’t move on – they keep replaying the “what-if” in their minds, trying to make it right. The guilt plays in a continuous loop, over and over in their heads and it begins to stifle their progress. What can you do?

You may not be able to change the past, but you can forgive yourself. At that time, you did the best you could do. The situation may not have even been your fault or in your control. There are a ton of factors that could play into you feeling sorry for yourself. If you can give energy to those type of thoughts, then you have the power to forgive.

Forgiveness is not only for others, it’s for you, too. We forgive those who did us wrong, because it gives us closure. Have you ever thought about giving yourself the same closure, so you can move on with your life? Let the emotions out, but instead of just dealing with it whenever it resurfaces, forgive yourself and let it go.

Growth Happens Here

Life is about growing. You deserve to take the next step, but you won’t be able to if you’re still carrying baggage from the past.

No matter how much it hurts or how bad it turned out, you can forgive yourself. Life can have a way of just happening, whether you are involved or not. The best way to deal with any kind of shame, remorse, guilt or disgrace is to forgive yourself.

Not only will it hopefully allow you to move forward with your life, but you will grow from it. Whether you are forgiving yourself or someone else, it lets you breathe. It frees you up from the negative emotions that have lived in your mental space for far too long.

Whether you do your best and fall short, or you experience life as it was given to you – forgive yourself. Beating yourself up won’t make you feel any better. Forgiveness grows you.

After you forgive yourself, smile. You’ve been holding yourself back because you feel you haven’t earned the right to live your best life. No matter how heavy life gets, we all deserve to live.

#TBT: When Motivation Becomes A Distraction

I know you’re thinking, “How can motivation become a distraction?” It sounds impossible, but there are ways people allow motivation to interfere with their goals.

Motivation is inspiring. It is the catalyst that creates motion. It gives us that mental push we need to move forward and accomplish our dreams. Without it, the world would move a lot slower.

We all have those things in our lives that help us take action, but what happens when that thing holds you back and causes inaction?

Motivation Is Like A Drug

For the most part, drugs are addictive. People become slaves to a substance that controls their minds and eventually, their actions.

Motivation is like a drug. Everyday, you consume motivational content, in one form or another, and it becomes addictive. It becomes hard to put it down because you want more and more.

Like drugs, motivation gives you a high. Although it’s not fatal, it can stop you from taking the action needed in order to get to your destination.

Social Media

If motivation is like a drug, who’s the pusher? Social media.

It’s great when you discover new content on social media that inspires and invigorates you, but in the end, that’s all you end up doing – scrolling through content.

Motivation feels good. You can picture yourself being successful, just like the person in the post. When you wake up in the morning and you start scrolling down your timeline, it feeds you with more and more. It gets you pumped up to take action. You’re ready to go, but then, you crash before you even start.

How many times have you (or someone you know) attended a seminar and you leave fired up and ready to take on the world, only to get home and follow up by doing nothing? The motivation is there, but you feel like you need more in order to move on.

The Distraction

This is when motivation becomes distracting. Your energy is there as long as you’re reading or looking at the content, but you never actually get around to putting one foot in front of the other and making it happen.

You become stuck and figure you need more motivation. Back to social media you go and consume more content. The more encouragement you can get, the harder you think you’ll work towards your goals. Day by day, it steals your attention and you become more sluggish.

Yes, your intention is to grind and hustle like the content says, but you only put in a little work and you’re back to needing more motivation. How can you turn this around?

Action Over Motivation

Like a drug addict, you have to go cold turkey when it comes to consumption. Yes, that means taking a break from social media and other forms of inspiring content.

Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that personal development is bad, because it’s not. Personal development has given people a positive way out of negative situations. It has transformed many destructive mindsets into thinking of productive possibilities.

At some point, you have to put in the work and take more action. Yes, it helps to get you on your way, but nothing will happen unless you get to work!

Less Is More

Flip the script. Put a time limit on how you consume content. Put that extra attention towards taking action and making progress with your daily plan. Use that motivation to push you forward – it doesn’t take much.

It will be difficult, but make it simple: less consumption, more action. Create your own encouraging ideas to post for others to become motivated. Be the example.

But it won’t get done unless you put down the device and start taking action.

#BeGoalden

Rest, Recharge and Reset

Rest is essential to our goal-driven lives. Always being on the go and running on that endless treadmill is a sure way to burn out.

Yes, burn out is real. We’re so busy trying to move the needle that we forget to take some time for ourselves. Our bodies and minds need the chance to rejuvenate so we can perform at our best.

We run ourselves into the ground, looking for approval and confirmation from others. Understand that rest is important.

There are two ways we can include better rest into our routine:

saying no and
focusing on yourself.

Just Say No

Saying ‘no’ may hurt feelings, but it’s a way to put yourself first. Are you one of those people who have trouble saying ‘no’ when someone asks you for a favor? This is part of the reason why you’re tired – you need a mental reset.

You aren’t obligated to anyone. A favor is a favor – it’s your choice. Yes, you may not satisfy quite a few of your friends, but they’ll be fine. Don’t let them guilt you into doing what you really don’t want to do. It’s not the end of the world.

No matter how disappointed they may be, there are times where you have to put yourself first. Everything doesn’t revolve around them – as selfish as it sounds, everything should revolve around you. If you make a commitment, follow through, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ in the first place.

Normalize saying ‘no’ without giving excuses and move on. If you notice, most people will say ‘no’ and then give a logical reason as to why they aren’t able to participate. We do it all the time, but we all know it’s just that – an excuse. It makes you feel better to make someone understand why you said no.

Guilt is what makes us give in. We don’t like the idea of letting someone else down – it makes us feel bad. How many times have you cheated yourself, simply because you wanted to make someone else happy? Soon, you’ll begin to realize that you must champion yourself, because nobody else is going to do it for you.

Productive Rest

We talk about being productive and persistent and chasing after your goals daily. It’s a must if you want to be successful, right?

While this may be true, you also have to rest. Constantly being on the move and multitasking can wear you thin very quickly. Sometimes, we’re so used to being in overdrive, we don’t realize it until we finally collapse and we’re forced to sit down.

It’s better to schedule a rest time than to keeping running until you fall out. As far as your health is concerned, that can be dangerous. Running on fumes is not good for your physical or mental well-being. A quick nap during the day to recharge can do wonders for decreasing stress and increasing productivity.

Also, reward yourself with some extended down time. You’re not as sharp when you’re tired from being busy. Don’t let your mind trick you into thinking you don’t need any sleep. Everything will still be there when you return.

Treat yourself to a rest and reset day (or weekend). Whether you spend a day in nature or go to a spa for a relaxing treatment, make time to do it – you need to physically and mentally reset! You are no good to others if you aren’t taking care of yourself.

Focus On You

Self-care is listening to yourself and doing what your body and mind need you to do. Success is hard work, but we often overlook those little hints that tell us to slow down. The heavy eyelids, cloudy thinking and short temper are just a few signs that it’s time to shut it down.

Like a computer, we all need to reset (or reboot) at some point. The longer you go without any rest, the worse your performance will become. Your mind will begin to slow down and your energy will begin to drain. You may not feel it, but others around you can see it.

Afterwards, you feel more refreshed and bright. This should be your normal level of function, but if you don’t rest, everything around you suffers.

Life doesn’t stop for anyone, but in the midst of it all, we must learn to take care of ourselves. Whether it’s telling your best friend ‘no’ or taking an afternoon nap, be mindful of how you feel, mentally and physically. Adjust your life to yourself, not others.

#TBT: What’s The Excuse Holding You Back?

Everyday, it’s a different excuse. You’re having a bad hair day, the dog got away or the storm knocked out the internet. Therefore, you won’t take action.

These may be valid reasons as to why you won’t do anything, but in reality, they’re not reasons, they’re excuses.

We can think of many reasons not to do anything productive. Deeper than that, we’ll allow it to make sense, so we won’t feel guilty about not following through. How can we do better?

Time Is Not An Excuse

One of the biggest excuses is not having enough time. We tell ourselves that millionaires are millionaires, because they have all the time in the world. “If I had that kind of time, I’d be rich, too,” we say.

Millionaires may be rich, but with the exception of those who were born rich, what were they doing with their time, prior to being rich? Were they sitting around, talking about why rich people are rich?

This is the part that no one talks about – the late nights and early mornings, making ends meet, putting in time with the kids, keeping up with awkward schedules, etc. For the most part, they were working towards their goals and they never gave up. You’ve heard stories of people who work on their side business for 4 hours, after they came home from working 2 jobs. There’s discipline in that type of work ethic and it pays off.

Remember when you never had the time? Well, it’s up to you to bend it to your benefit and leverage it as much as possible. It’s all the same 24 hours, so if you want it to work out, you have to make it work for you.

Our minds tend to keep us on a schedule of daily habits. If you want to have a chance at reaching your goal, enhance your routine. Stretch, adjust or eliminate the details in your daily pattern. Disrupt your autopilot habits and become more aware of the goal you’re trying to achieve.

You could shorten your time watching television and replace it with creating a plan. Maybe you could research while you eat dinner. Or, you could listen to a podcast while taking a shower.

There are many ways you can make more time – it just takes a little altering to make it work towards your advantage.

It’s Not In Your Control

Everything that happens in life is not controlled by you. If you can accept that simple fact, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress.

Some of us get upset when life happens – we become emotional and start having negative thoughts. Like a child, we have a tantrum and we let it stop us from doing what we planned to do.

Yes, this presents a challenge, but at the same time, you have the ability to think your way through it. There may be a change of plans that have to take place, but it can be done.

Some of the things we tell ourselves is, “It is what it is…” or “I’m not about to do that, just so I can do this…” We make up these ridiculous excuses to justify our laziness. Now, you’ve allowed the situation to hijack your progress.

It’s difficult to get up after being knocked down. It becomes comfortable to stay there, because it’s easier than getting knocked down again. Why even try? Get rid of this excuse – it only puts you on a path to nowhere.

Don’t let the things you’re unable to control, have control over you. Have a ‘can-do’ attitude when things happen unexpectedly. These are the small battles that need to be won, so that you can move closer to your results. It’s not the end, there’s just another way to do it.

How Do You Want This To End?

The easy part of this, is that you get to make the decision on the outcome you want to see. The hard part is, you must consistently get up and take action, if you want to get there.

If you were in a physical fight, it’s natural to defend yourself and fight back, because you want to win. You’re doing your best to prevent yourself from being hurt. It’s the same with accomplishing your goals. When an obstacle hits you, don’t just lay down and take it – get up and take another swing.

Use your mind in the right way. That involves thinking positive thoughts and creating a growth environment for yourself. Instead of lingering on the problem (challenge) at hand, linger on finding a solution. How you respond to a challenge determines if you’ll be successful or not.

Don’t make a convenient excuse – overcome them. Whether you create them or life creates them, don’t let them get in your way. You are more than capable of changing your direction in order to make it happen and win.

#BeGoalden

Preparation And Action Removes Fear

Preparation is a great way to eliminate fear. You fear what you don’t know, but in order to beat that feeling of insecurity and anxiety, you must set aside some time in advance to get ready.

We live in a microwave society where most people want things to happen in an instant. It’s awesome that technology has accommodated us by making some tasks easier and quicker to accomplish, but there are still some things that we need to prepare for in advance and with constructive thought.

Be Accountable For Your Actions

With responsibility comes accountability. Being able to own your mistakes and think for yourself is how you evolve as a person. There are too many people who allow others to dictate their circumstances, just by not holding themselves accountable.

So many of us have a “it wasn’t me” mindset when it comes to life. We think if we can get away from taking the blame, life will be better. If you don’t take responsibility and prepare for what may come, someone else will handle it for you and that doesn’t turn out well.

Holding yourself accountable for your actions is how you grow. Even if it wasn’t your fault, you can control the narrative by taking the reins and moving forward. Equip yourself with the information needed to bring about a solid outcome. Yes, it takes time and effort to prepare (and a strong mindset to correct possible mishaps), but it will serve you better on multiple levels.

When you are accountable for yourself and the things you do, that’s when life becomes better. Constantly looking for someone else to throw under the bus is backwards. Be prepared – tackle those obstacles and hold yourself responsible. There’s always someone to blame for your problems, but your life won’t be productive until you decide to take control and become accountable for your actions.

Decisions, Big And Small

The smallest decision can have the biggest impact. Everyday, we have choices to make and it creates the world we live in. Being lazy today can inhibit your success tomorrow.

When it’s time to make a decision, don’t delay. Some of your future situations are based off of the choices you prepare for now. If the information is there, use it to your best interest and make appropriate plans.

Sometimes, we procrastinate and hope things will play out in our favor. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to prepare for every single thing that may happen, but it helps to be in front of the eight ball instead of behind it.

Your decisions lead your life. Poor decisions will give you poor results. Always think 2 steps ahead when considering your choices. Think about what you want the outcome to be and guide your thinking in that direction. Also, think about where things could go wrong. It may not turn out how you want it to, but either way, you’ll be prepared no matter what happens.

Prepare For The Best And The Worst

Being accountable for your decisions and responsible for your actions are beneficial to being self-reliant. As long as you depend on someone else to take the blame or make choices for you, your life is not your own.

Action and preparation cures fear. If you don’t want something to turn out a certain way, prepare for it by doing something about it now. Don’t wait until it’s too late. You don’t want to be in a worse predicament than you were before. Do something to prevent the worst from happening or do something that will play in your favor.

Don’t be afraid if things turn out differently than you planned – that’s what makes it adventurous. There will be things you’re unable to control along the way, but there are some things that will pleasantly surprise you, too.

When you prepare, you build confidence – things don’t seem as scary. You don’t feel stressed or stuck when you develop a plan and have it ready. By practicing preparedness, you are overcoming your fear by taking action.

Maintaining A Desire To Grow

When you change your perspective, you grow. The reason why some people have a boring, uneventful life is because they’re scared to say ‘yes’ to anything different.

There are people who seem to live such an epic life, but were they lucky or did they keep an open mind and take advantage of the many opportunities? What does it take to grow and lead a fulfilling life?

Grow With Your Mistakes

We all make mistakes – the real question is, do we learn from them?

Most people have been brainwashed into thinking that making a mistake is detrimental. They’re afraid of the embarrassment and negative labels that may come with it. This is what stops them from improving and moving forward.

Let’s make it clear – you never may a mistake, you learn. When you own your mistake, you learn how to take a different route, how to go about it differently and most of all, what NOT to do the next time.

Some people will make a mistake and point the finger at someone else, simply because they don’t want the criticism that may come with it. Owning your mistake and taking that responsibility means you’re making progress. It’s impossible to gain any ground if you’re constantly finding fault and placing blame.

It’s a process that requires determination to see it through to completion. Think of anyone who has reached their goal, whether big or small – they wouldn’t have been successful without learning from their mistakes. In order to learn from your mistakes, you have to own them and grow.

Try New Things

Another way to enhance your desire to grow is to try new things. Doing something new every once in a while pushes your boundaries for learning and opens up a new world for you.

People who never want to try anything limit themselves. Understandably, you shouldn’t attempt to do every single thing that you come across, but when you avoid everything, you cut off your potential.

It doesn’t mean to walk a tightrope at 100 feet in the air for the first time, but maybe try it at 3 feet. Maybe you’ll like it, maybe you won’t, but at least you’ll know because you made an attempt.

Simple things, like taking a new route to work, trying different food or writing with your opposite hand can exercise your brain. There are many things you can do everyday that will open your eyes to a new (and possibly better) process.

Expand Your Thinking

Is there a right way to think? The wrong way to think is to think you know it all and close yourself off to other people’s suggestions or opinions.

There are some people who haven’t read a book since high school or who have never traveled to another country. When the opportunity presents itself, their first reaction is always ‘no’. This promotes passive behavior, which leads to a closed mind.

Instead of always having your staunch opinion, try thinking from the other side. It doesn’t mean you agree, it just shows that you have the ability to think on another level.

The more you expand your thinking, the more you’ll learn. Your desire to grow will increase and you’ll gain more knowledge about different things in the process. Never be afraid to think strategically or from another angle.

Your Adventure Starts Now

Life is all about growth. When you’re born, you don’t stay a baby forever – you grow everyday. It’s the same concept with maintaining your desire to grow. Your capacity to learn is enormous, but you have to activate that curiosity, which can lead to amazing things.

Overall, take the time to explore new places and new people. It’s okay to say ‘yes’ to something new. It doesn’t mean you lose or you wasted time if you don’t like it – it means that you were open enough to see what it does, how it works and if you would possibly like it.

Create your life by maintaining your desire to grow. When all is said and done, you will have discovered an adventure that was worth living!

Get Rid Of Your Stinking Thinking

The way you think and talk to yourself is imperative to your growth. If your self-talk is negative, it needs to change – how you think of yourself determines how much you’ll accomplish in this world.

It’s not about mindlessly repeating affirmations everyday like clockwork, but it’s about recognizing your potential. Why live with bad thoughts when you have the freedom to live with great thoughts?

Your Past Affects How You See Yourself

It’s understandable – some of us were raised in a toxic environment where people constantly said horrible things to us. They made sure to tell you how awful and stupid you were on a regular basis. After a while, it gets stuck in your head like a broken record and you began to believe it.

Your self-esteem is affected by this nonsense. Growing up, it unconsciously became your identity and you fell in line with those types of actions. “If they say I’m bad, then I’m bad…” you’d think to yourself.

Attempting to unlearn such terrible things is a challenge. When something has been cemented into your mind, it’s like it belongs there. Your brain doesn’t want to change, but this is a habit that you must make a concentrated effort to undo.

Speak Kindly To Yourself

You have the power to be kind – why not be kind to yourself?

People place doubts in our minds and we automatically accept it. We like to believe the bad before we believe the good. It’s easier and makes for better gossip. We love telling stories of other’s failures, but we quietly overlook the stories of triumph and success.

Even if you encounter an obstacle, it’s not the end. Don’t start thinking it’s all over and there’s nothing else that can be done. Those thoughts of defeat are lying to you. The opportunity is there to prove yourself that it can be done. Take the time to think it through with a winning mind.

In that moment, you have a choice. Will you think, “It’s no use – it’ll never happen…” or, “Let me do it the other way and see what happens…”? Your entire thought pattern leads to whether you will overcome that obstacle.

What’s In Your Think Tank?

It’s so much easier to think the worst before you think the best, but that’s where the change needs to happen. It doesn’t take any physical effort – all it takes is for you to switch your words, be positive and know that you are a problem-solver.

Be the opposite of what that little voice in your head says you are. Sometimes, all it takes is a positive song that picks you up to enhance your mood. When done intentionally, affirmations can work as well.

What you need to take away from this is that you have a choice. People will say negative things to you just because, but don’t let it stick. Have a mindset so strong that you set your own rules and thrive with confidence.

Your attitude is not contingent upon what someone else says – in fact, you can adjust it. Don’t depend on someone else to see the best in you – you must know it and believe it. Stay away from the trap of other people’s opinions.

We all have the ability to think magnificent thoughts. Why choose to think the worst? Be kind to yourself, spoil yourself with positive thoughts and take actions that inspire you to level up.

Finding Your Inner Strength

Inner strength is something that you can not find from anywhere else – it’s inside of you. This means that no one can give it to you or offer it at your convenience.

You feel like you can take on the world when someone encourages you and that’s a great feeling. What happens when there is no one there to give you that motivation? Do you wait for it before you move on or do you somehow create it yourself and go about your day?

Your Emotional Attachment To Opinions

Most people allow the opinion of others to dictate how their day goes. If someone gives you a compliment on your shirt, you’re in a pleasant mood. If someone rudely interrupts your conversation, you’re annoyed and it ruins the rest of your week.

Throughout life, everyone isn’t going to “like your shirt”. It’s nice that you were given a word of kindness, but does it throw you off when you receive the opposite?

Allowing your emotions to be attached to someone else’s opinion is one of the easiest ways to lose yourself. You’ll find yourself always trying to please others and living for what they say about you. You don’t have control over what someone says or thinks about you, but you do have control over how you respond to it.

There are people in the world who live to bring others down. They get their excitement from watching you crumble under their words. Don’t be an easy target – if you know they say certain things to spark a reaction, as simple as it sounds, just don’t react.

No one controls your emotions but you. You have a goal to conquer, so don’t let a little negative comment or action disrupt what you’re doing. It’s all a distraction to keep you down – know that you have the inner strength to ignore it and move on.

Waiting For Permission

Another way you give away your power is by waiting for permission. Growing up, it was the thing to do – you raise your hand to ask to go to the restroom or you ask your mom to go outside and play. Permission has it’s place for certain things, but it shouldn’t become a habit when it comes to your vision.

As an adult, you shouldn’t ask or wait for permission to follow your dream. No one in this world has the blueprint to the perfect life. If you ask, people will mostly give you a negative point of view or a million reasons why it wont’ work. Again, their opinion keeps you from accomplishing your goal.

Create a life where you are in control. Waiting for someone to agree with your idea is a waste of time. If you know what you want to do, do it. If it goes wrong, you learn from it and keep going – time waits for no one.

When others say, “Don’t do that, it’ll ruin your life…” your inner strength says, “Let’s do it and see what happens – you’ll figure it out along the way.” Looking for approval from others never works in your favor.

Imagine what you could do if you followed your own power.

Your Inner Strength Is Already There

Your inner strength is tested everyday. You already have it, you just need to activate it for yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to flip your switch on – you are the source.

Motivation is nice, but it’s best to be your own motivation. You can look to others for inspiration, but at some point, you have to take the reins and inspire yourself. Encouragement feels good, but you can talk to yourself better than anyone else can.

You’d be surprised at how often you give away your emotional energy to others on a daily basis. Find the power to walk your own path. Your inner strength is there – don’t be afraid to use it.

#TBT: How To Create Your Own Luck

We hear people say, “I got lucky.” Luck does exist to an extent, but it’s not something you want to depend on blindly to carry you through life.

They type of luck we’re talking about is built on intentional effort. You can create your own luck by having discipline, focus and being persistent. Build your foundation by creating your own luck.

Build Up Your Own Luck

Discipline. Being able to do things when you don’t feel like it, takes discipline. Getting up earlier than normal to put in extra work, takes discipline. Trying again after you failed 2 times before, takes discipline. Moving forward after people have criticized your efforts, takes discipline. Exercise your discipline muscle everyday – it’s the only way you will see results.
Focus. Giving strict attention to one thing is focus. It’s not jumping up to answer the phone when it rings. Your focus allows you to work on your goals fluently, without giving in to interruptions or distractions. Get focused if you want to see your luck happen.
Persistent. You can’t have it if you give up. Being persistent is what makes luck happen. Giving in just because you’re tired is the weak approach. Persistence is continuing the process until something happens. Nothing short of death will stop you from making progress. This is what luck is made of.

Be Mindful Of Your Goal

As you can see, getting lucky takes diligent work. No matter what your goal is, discipline, focus and persistence will create your luck, every time. No magical outside forces are needed to make it happen.

What attracts being unlucky? Mindlessly watching television, gossiping, scrolling through junk on social media and having desperate, uninspired conversation.

These things don’t contribute to luck because they don’t lead to productivity. Laying around in bed, waiting for life to happen, is a sure way to being unlucky. It doesn’t enhance your plans in any way.

Take The Lucky Route

It’s easy to be unlucky, but it takes positive and mindful action to become lucky. Think about your end goal and work backwards to where you are now. Take the first step. No more research, but physical action – making that phone call, eating that salad, or walking for 20 minutes.

By utilizing these 3 characteristics, you can create your success many times over. Begin with baby steps.

Don’t do what everyone else is doing – whatever they’re doing isn’t going to help you. Create your own luck.

#TBT: If You Want To Improve, Make Mistakes

It’s natural for humans to want to avoid mistakes. Everyone prefers to appear that they have it all together and that nothing ever goes wrong.

But, it does. Life happens and being perfect just doesn’t exist. You can look like you have it all together on the outside, but you know you’re barely holding it together on the inside.

Mistakes aren’t little things that get in the way of your progress. You may not like it when things don’t go as planned, but it’s essential to your self-improvement.

What Are Mistakes?

Mistakes are little instances that you don’t expect to happen. Even when you’re doing your best, something can still go wrong.

While riding a bike, you don’t expect to fall, but once you figure out how it happened, you make it a point to keep it from happening again.

When you fell off of your bike, you discovered that your shoe strings were too long and got caught in the pedal. Next time, you stuff your shoe strings inside of your shoe, to prevent from falling again. Lesson learned.

A simple person would have stopped riding bikes, altogether. Rather than facing the challenge and finding a better way, they shrink back into their comfortable space.

Understand that simple mistakes like this will arise, but it’s up to you to figure it out, so you can keep moving forward.

Mistakes Give Direction

Some people don’t know how to handle mistakes. They become angry and take the easy way out by giving up.

Mistakes are not a sign to give up, but a sign to change direction or course correct. This is an important part of the process, because it allows room for improvement, as you go along.

Imagine if you gave up, every time you made a mistake. You wouldn’t achieve anything in life. Being lazy would be your highest standard.

When mistakes happen, it’s like a GPS telling you which way to go. Even a GPS will re-route when you go in the wrong direction. It doesn’t stop working just because you took a wrong turn. It searches for another way to get to your destination.

Other People’s Reactions

One of the biggest reasons why we don’t like making mistakes, or admitting to them, is fear of what other people think.

People are insecure. They will give any type of reaction that makes you feel small and not-so-smart. They want the attention to be on you and not on the mistakes that they make.

When they laugh about it, laugh with them. Don’t let it make you feel insignificant. Once you learn from your mistake and keep going, they won’t be laughing anymore.

Learn To Adjust

Your mind is your greatest asset. Use it to it’s full capacity – that’s what it’s for. Having the ability to adjust when things go south is a fundamental trait to possess.

Instead of being discouraged when something doesn’t go right, take the time to see what happened and how you can improve upon the outcome for next time. Have a ‘can do’ attitude when it comes to solving issues, even when it’s unexpected.

Treat your mistakes as your teachers, because they are. Without them, you would go around in a circle, staying within your comfort zone. They show you the path that leads to success. All you have to do is be confident, make corrections and follow through.