We moved back to the UK five years ago – really that long ago now? – after living in South America for over a decade. Moving back was challenging. The UK had changed, and so had we. We had adapted to a completely different culture and found real joy in it. One of the hardest aspects for me was work. I found the transition of my new job really difficult and, for the first time in my professional career, experienced failure at work.
It floored me. I didn’t know how to cope, how to talk about it or what to do. It deeply challenged my identity which was all tied up with my job. If I couldn’t do this successfully any more, who was I? Up to this point, I had never realised how much of my identity I had put onto my work.
Looking back now, I hope that I’ve grown. My employers were brilliant and supported me really well and actually that point of failure has taken me on a path that has led to coaching: something I am incredibly grateful for.
I hope that I may be in a better place now to cope with failure. It is not definitive, in fact often it brings opportunities. As with so many things, it all depends on our perspective and how we frame events. We can learn, move on, and grow from failure.
Michael Jordan said “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” What an attitude.