The dirtiest F word that one can use is not profanity, but the word failure. In our “winner vs loser” shaped society, it is among the worst things you can say about a person. Failed doctor, failed business, a failed marriage, and more. From a psychological standpoint, this type of word is damaging to one’s esteem and sense of self-worth, especially when it comes to inflicting children with this word. It is no mystery that as adults, we continue to dread this word. Unfortunately, too many fall victim to this word without even realizing its mythical definition.
The word failure has been made to imply the finality of one’s inability to complete a task by our unforgiving society which worships perfection. It is to say with absolute certainty that something will never happen. I beg to differ with this assessment. There are five major differences between a person that is “trying” and one that is “failing” according to society’s standard. We are going to use Tyler Perry’s story as an example.
Sign 1: Someone That is Trying Has Never Stopped Working on Their Goal
Tyler Perry is a primary example of someone that tried. Year after year he successfully put on his play, however, the turn out to his play consisted only of friends and family. This did not deter Tyler, year after year he was determined to see a result from his life’s work. Today his plays have been translated into “Madea” movies and he is one of the highest-grossing movie producers of all time. He went from being homeless to earning enough income that he was able to purchase a military installation and turn it into his studio in Atlanta.
Sign 2: Someone Who is Trying is Passionate About Reaching Their Goals
Regardless of the low turnout, Tyler worked hard on his plays and ensured year after year he improved the quality of his work. He always made one goal each year, to put on the best play possible. Every single year without incident he met that goal and he remained passionate and enthusiastic about his work. Now people with a “failure” mindset would say he wasted his time for years. In my opinion, he paid his work forward. Because he had so much content he was able to turn his plays into movies and rapidly grow his career because he did not have to sit and write new material. I can guarantee he has more time to enjoy his success than someone with nothing but one hit play under their belt.
Sign 3: A Person Who Is Trying Listens to Instinct, Not Naysayers
A person who is trying has learned to close their ears when naysayers come around. They will not entertain anything they have to say about what they should be doing. They stay focused and unmoved from their goals. Can you imagine how many times Tyler heard, “You are wasting all your money to put another play on again”? Have you considered getting a real job? Could you imagine the ridicule he went through by his 6th year putting on his play? How many people stopped showing up by the 3rd year? Would you throw a box of rare rubies out in the trash simply because no one around you thought they were valuable? You cannot allow others to dictate what your value is, you set the bar for your value.
Sign 4: Someone Who is Trying Is Driven By the Love For What They Do
When you love what you do you have an endless supply of energy to keep trying. It doesn’t matter how many “throw in the towel moments” one has, they keep coming back and they continue to have hope. It doesn’t matter if the whole world is falling down around you, you will find a way to continue doing something that you love. For Tyler, his love for writing plays drove him to become very creative. By the time he finally was successful he has a stockpile of excellent material that simply needed to be adapted to film. Sitting idly is not an option, they will continue to work towards their goals no matter what.
Sign 5: Someone Who Is Trying Has Already Visualized Their Success
Lastly, someone who is trying cannot stop because they have already envisioned their success. They can feel it, they can see it coming, they can taste it. They have even started making plans about what they are going to do when they finally achieve their goals. Their motivation to reach their goal is endless. They see every inch of progress as a mile of movement forward. Their enthusiasm for meeting their goals cannot be quenched.
Stop allowing others to distract you from trying. The truth is the only way to fail is to stop trying!
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