Dealing With Failure

Setting goals for the new year and implementing change to your life is a fantastic way of reassessing areas that you need to work on. Writing down your plans and having a brain dump can set you off on the right road to success, but what if things don’t go to plan and you fail?

Do you quit and revert back to the ‘safe zone’ you were in before you decided to make changes?

Or do you continue to plough through until you need to surface for air?

We all respond differently to the stresses in our lives. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another and that’s purely down to how you deal with your problems.

WARNING: A little brain hack coming up but I like this.

Your brain is divided into 3 parts, the reptilian (this is the first part to develop when you’re in the womb and is located at the brain stem), the limbic system is above the brain stem within the cerebrum and neocortex is more towards the front of your head between the temples.

Each area is responsible for the following functions:

The reptile controls the bodys functions such as heart rate, breathing, temperature and balance. It also plays a role in the release of adrenaline – your fight or flight hormone.
The limbic brain is responsible for emotions, behaviours, values, judgments and your subconscious.
The neocortex is responsible for language, learning, creativity, imagination and consciousness

Positive and negative people will respond differently when faced with a dilemma. Once the limbic has received information of a problem it will either send blood to the Neocortex in assistance for finding the solution or to the reptile.

Negative people rely on the reptile to take over and if you imagine, as the name suggests, the reptile brain is going to either run away or fight…. This is significant when it comes to why many people quit the goals they have set themselves.

Positive people rely on their neocortex for problem solving and can often find solutions by adjusting their approach and trying again.

This is the difference between failing because you quit and failing because the original plan didn’t work. It’s whether you choose to try again that is the difference in achieving your goal.

You can train your brain to respond differently, just like you can train you body to alter your physique. It takes practise but it is possible.

Start by making small changes daily and writing them down. Include things like emotions, what you are finding challenging, what small action you can implement to take you closer to your goal?

Keeping these in a journal or planner will help you reflect upon successes and failures. These little progressions are what moves you forward, they may feel uncomfortable at times, but in order to reach your goal, you have to step out of your comfort zone.

Understanding your brain and its responses is the first step into training your Neocortex. Incredibly, this part of the brain has an infinite learning ability…. As the saying goes: We never lose, we only learn.

If you found this article helpful please share it.