
Aren’t we trying to avoid failure? Uhm, yeah… BUt about that… In order to avoid failure, we have to take the possibility of failure and it’s unexpected fallout into account. We need to know what to do when something goes wrong! If we prepare in a vacuum we can only succeed in a vacuum.
Preparing a presentation? Make sure you can start (or restart) it from any slide or any point. Plan out answers to the hard questions beforehand. Run through the presentation with the radio or your children in the background, this way you know you can stay focused despite distractions Figure out what can go wrong and have a plan! This is failing with grace, when interference strikes, it won’t seem like failure.
Ultimately, failing with grace comes down to preparation, and the more you practice this, the less often disaster strikes. On the off chance that it does, it will become a learning experience as well.
“The only real failure is the one from which we learn nothing.” ― Henry Ford
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this: the next time you prepare for something—PRACTICE FAILLING! Figure out what can go wrong beforehand, and make plans how to deal.