I have been listening to Ziva Meditation’s ‘head in the game’ audio for quite some time now. And that’s where I came across this beautiful statement: ‘Give yourself permission to fail’ by the very lovely Emily Fletcher. Better yet, ‘dare to suck’, especially when you are amid some tough competition – be it for getting a new job, rebranding your company, preparing for a new marketing presentation or any scenario where you have to perform, act or respond (especially when the stakes are high).

Now that doesn’t connote if you manifest your sloppiness or deploy this thinking into creating something ‘really terrible’ for yourself. Contrarily, you implore yourself to accept the imperfections of your act and still deliver the very best you are made of, and of constant recreation of a new you.

The authenticity of your brand‘s purpose lasts and lingers while seeking short-term validation of who you are gradually dwindles, and doesn’t seem to matter in the long-term.

That’s where the thinking of ‘give yourself permission to fail’ is rooted in: your long-term thinking, work ethic, brand’s existence and the resulting culture you build for the people around you.

When you accept failures, they make your more grounded and uplevel you with the status-quo. More so, it also strengthens you to become more self-aware, humble and hard-working (no matter how gorgeous the word ‘smart’ sounds to you).

Some more reasons why you should ‘give yourself permission to fail’:

  • You become more creative, even when you feel constrained by your areas of improvement
  • You believe in evolution, instead of always focusing on the outcome. (Though balancing the two is the real game-changer for effective performance)
  • You’re learn-it-all instead of a know-it-all
  • (From the business standpoint): You experiment more and create your own Minimum Viable Products – and make better choices on what works for your brand based on time, cost, effectiveness (growth) and impact.
  • You become more adaptive to new situations, thereby flexing your inner compass to pivot when needed, while keeping your vision intact
  • And the best part? You are in total control of your actions and outlook, giving you new opportunity to explore the unknown with some ‘stretch comfort’ (as you would always learn something new that creates new comfort stretches for you to operate in).

Over to you.

Do you give yourself permission to fail?

And do you give yourself the next chance to improvise and, as Ray Dalio says, ‘maximize your evolution’?

Would love to know!