Bounce Back from Mistakes and Failures

We've all experienced the heartbreak of failure and the embarrassment of mistakes. But how do you bounce back from those moments of frustration and avoid feeling discouraged? How do you come back from mistakes and failures and learn how to succeed?

Learn from the pros.

When we look at the most successful people in the world, we admire them for their successes. But did you know that most of the top successful people in the world have experienced abject failures, too? We're talking Donald Trump, Anthony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Larry Winget, Sir Richard Branson...the most successful people in the world had many failures before they were successful...and some even after that.

Successful people tend to use their mistakes and failures as a stepping stone - just one more lesson on the road to success. They don't give up. They look at what went wrong, analyze the situation, and learn from their mistakes.

Admit what happened and take responsibility.

Sometimes we forget this step, and it's important to be honest with yourself (and when appropriate, with others) and just admit what happened. Maybe you had a bad idea. Maybe you chose the wrong target market or didn't know your target market well enough. Or maybe you just messed up because you weren't paying attention or were careless.

If you avoid taking responsibility for what went wrong, it'll be much harder to take the next steps, which are analyzing the failure and figuring out what you can learn from it. One of my mentors, Larry Winget, says that when you make a mistake or fail, you should look in the mirror and face yourself and acknowledge your responsibility. Take ownership over what happened and then take ownership over learning from it and moving on.

Analyze the failure and look for the lesson.

I once heard someone say that failure is life telling us it's time to put on our work clothes. So get to work! What can you learn from this? Where did you go wrong and how can you avoid making this same mistake in the future? Or, how can you turn this into a success? Sometimes, the real success is in what you learned from this moment.

Create a plan.

One of the best ways to rebound after a mistake or failure is to look toward the future. Maybe this particular route you were on won't take you in the direction you expected. All that means is that it's time to find another path to achieving your dreams. Start planning from here forward and get back on track.

Get some perspective and look at the bigger picture.

One mistake rarely destroys a dream. One mistake won't make the Earth tilt off its axis and one failure doesn't mean your life is over. Take some time and look at the bigger picture and see this moment for what it really is: a blip on the radar, if even that. Often, our gaffes seem much larger to us than they do to anyone else. Many times, mistakes aren't even noticed by other people. So gain a little perspective and remember that what seems massive to you might seem minimal to the rest of the world.

Choose to stay in the game.

You can decide, right now, that you will not give up on your dreams. You can choose to stay in the game and keep trying. Several years ago, Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman starred in a comedy called Galaxy Quest, and there's a line in that movie that I love to say, when facing a mistake or failure: "Never give up! Never surrender!" Remember this: don't quit before the miracle happens.

The best thing you can do is to decide before you make a mistake that you'll never give up. That way you'll be prepared to keep going, no matter what happens.

Get up, dust yourself off, and move on.

Sometimes all you can do when you make a mistake or fail at something is to just get up, dust yourself off, and move on. There are times for thought and analysis and there are times for moving on. In fact, in a recent chat about entrepreneurial success, Sir Richard Branson was asked, "What's the best way to handle failure?" and his answer was, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again."

Remember: the bottom is a great place to start.

There's nothing wrong with starting over. There's nothing wrong with backtracking and fixing something. The bottom is a great place to start because frankly, the only way us up. Start over. Start again. There's nothing wrong with it.

Ultimately, the most important thing to remember is that everyone makes mistakes. One of my clients recently said, "If you don't try, you can't mess up." As I told her, you must also remember that if you don't try, you can't succeed, either. Keep in mind that old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again," and make it a part of your mindset, and you'll try, try, try until you do succeed...and you'll learn from every little bump in the road along the way.