Learn To Accept ‘Fail’, ‘End’, and ‘No’
What I Learned Today…
A friend shared a post from a friend of his today on Facebook. The picture was of a cubical with a whiteboard on one wall with these words written on it.
“If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means ‘First Attempt In Learning’. End is not the end. In fact E.N.D. means ‘Effort Never Dies’. If you get NO as an answer, remember N.O. means ‘Next Opportunity’. Positive Thinking!!!!”
My first thought was, wow! I needed to hear that.
In my current journey to become a leader in data and project management, I realize I have a lot to learn and I look forward to the challenge. Sometimes people, including myself, reach near frenzy status in our quest to learn and reach for the stars. I have seen it before, in myself, co-workers, classmates, and students I tutor. We want to know it all, and we want to know it all now. We also want everyone to realize we know it and put us in positions to prove what we know. Then we can become frustrated when others seem to not realize how amazing we have become with our new found knowledge.
It seems to me what happens then depends on the direction of our thinking. If our thinking tends to drift in a negative direction: our F.A.I.L. can mean Final Action In Losing, our E.N.D. can mean Effort Now Defeated, and our N.O. can mean No Options. I have been told that negative thinking is both the beginning and the end of success. I had a mentor once tell me that when you begin to think negative thoughts about yourself you are setting yourself up to self-fulfilling prophesy. This has the ability to immobilize any further thoughts of success, thereby sealing the end of action toward success. Negative thinking is so devastating at times that some can actually give up with only one step left to meet success.
However, when our thinking swings toward the positive direction, each obstacle instead of being an impenetrable brick wall, now becomes a locked door. You still can’t get through, but you now have the power to open the door, because you hold the key. I believe that is exactly what positive thinking is, the key to success. Yes, it takes knowledge, work, and perseverance.
What I learned today is what F.A.I.L., E.N.D., and N.O. on that whiteboard means. F.A.I.L — Never quit learning, E.N.D. — Roll up your sleeves and dive in, and N.O. — Don’t let the word ‘no’ stop you. As I continue my journey, I am sure there will be days where it will seem like I can’t succeed, but that doesn’t mean that I believe it or that I won’t succeed. Let’s succeed together.
