Tubthumping- Falling Down Doesn't Mean Failure

So something didn’t go according to plan or how you would have liked it to go. Falling down doesn’t mean failure. If it did, we would have all been labeled as failures within the first year of life, learning to walk. Over the course of our lives conditioned thinking eats at our self-confidence and the way we handle and perceive falling down.

Do you remember the 1997 song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba? If not, you can click the video link and then curse me for getting the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day (you’re welcome). The catchy lyrics boldly proclaimed:

I get knocked down, but I get up again

You're never gonna keep me down

Somehow we so readily accept the term failure as something negative. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we always succeeded and never failed? I’d like to propose that the answer should be, NO; let me explain.

When we learned to walk, we fell down, A LOT. Falling down didn’t faze us. We fell down and we got up again, and we did it again. Sure, we may have got frustrated, but we kept it up until we had it. Sometimes when we fell down, we crawled for a short while, and then got up and attempted to walk again. The important thing was that we kept re-attempting and moving forward.

So many people get hung up on the fact that they “failed” that they can’t move past that point. It’s like a baby dropping to the ground and deciding never to attempt to crawl or walk again- just keeping its diaper glued to the ground. How can we learn if we don’t keep trying?

So we fall down- but like the song- we just get up again. What many miss in the song is the intro:

We’ll be singing

When we’re winning

Failing to achieve is really an opportunity to succeed. One door closes and another opens. Effort will release its reward, only when we refuse to quit. Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” When we refuse to see failure as an option, the only option left is success. Failure then takes a positive turn and transforms into future opportunity.

I guarantee you that any set back that you have experienced is only temporary. This very moment is now the past. What will you learn from this moment to help you achieve your dream? What will you learn from what didn’t go well? Just sing to yourself:

I’ll be singing

When I’m winning

I get knocked down, but I get up again

Ain’t nothing gonna keep me down!

The key is to get up, brush yourself off and keep moving toward your goal. You got this! It’s time to start believing in yourself again like you did when you learned to walk. Now go experience an awesome life! We'll be singing, when we're winning.

Jolene Church is a motivational speaker and coach with the National Speakers Association. Jolene’s book, Thinking 101: Fundamentals of a Successful Mindset, helps readers break down thinking barriers that inhibit success and growth.