Insta-Twit-Book is full of people who throw around motivational quotes and excerpts from great books. I’m definitely a fan of a good quote and I follow certain people, just to get these things delivered into my feed. There are a fair few quotes on the topic of failure, its learnings, and how we can then use it to ultimately succeed, particularly if you are following serial entrepreneurs.
This is all well and good, but I am also a big fan of experiencing things in order to learn them properly. So in order to learn from failure, you have to fail in person and experience that first hand. The challenge is that most people are not brought up that way so we actively avoid failure and feel judged on our failures. Failure is emotionally tough, dents our ego and so we take the safer option. Very few people enjoy failing.
So… what are some examples that we see as coaches where people don’t learn from their failures?
Stress and Fatigue.
If we are continually getting injured, unmotivated, stressed or fatigued, something isn’t right. If we keep repeating the same band-aid solutions to these underlying problems that have failed us in the past, then we are not learning from our failures. Normally these things come from imbalances in ‘the rest of life’ e.g. work, social, family and therefore need changes in that area, rather than the ‘band-aid' amendments to your training program, which don’t address the underlying cause.
Pacing.
We all know someone who can’t pace themselves whilst running. They can’t resist the urge in a race to up the pace and then subsequently can’t hold it. I guarantee this person also knows this is a problem, that it has been for a long time and they haven’t learnt from the failure. This is a common one for us runners.
Over-Racing.
There is a good reason why there are so many world records dropping in athletics and swimming at the moment. Fewer races. For those who would normally race hard and regularly, without races in 2020, they are now able to get solid, complete blocks of training in, let their bodies adapt, take adequate time for rest and recovery and not rush the process of building. The result is better athletes and better results. Us not learning from this is one of my main worries for 2021. The rush to sign up for races is on already and for those who have trained consistently and are fit and healthy, getting an race in early in the new year shouldn’t be an issue. For the others, who have lacked consistency, this is a disaster waiting to happen, complete with several trips to the physio.
Impatience.
This one probably sums up the other three points above quite nicely. Particularly when we look at people’s physical state and wanting to improve their fitness, speed etc. this takes time and consistency. Your body has its own time schedule and it doesn’t care when the next race is. It will improve, adapt or repair at its own pace, not the pace you want it to. Failing to learn this is why we re-injure ourselves, usually through some form of failing to learn from our failures in pacing, over racing, stress or fatigue.
In 2021, I want to personally learn more from my failures and am hoping that others, including the people I coach want to do the same. It’s the best way to learn and fastest way to improve. Bring on the progress...