Most of us know what to do, but don’t take the actions to follow through. What holds you back is the fear of failure.One very common self-immolating behavior is:

"...the pesky excuses for why we didn't get something done, telling ourselves mediocre is good enough or believing that the huge goal we set is just too big."

Frequently, if we give a task everything we have held nothing back and fail, we can expect generous pats on the back and respect for having tried. It's the proverbial "you left it all out there on the field" concept.

What if we convinced ourselves that we were putting it all out there and giving it everything we had despite knowing that we weren't? We'd still get the pats on the back and could walk away from it lamenting for all to hear "it just wasn't meant to be." Then we could go back to what we knew content with failure until it becomes routine. The slow ebb of normalizing mediocrity.

In short, we are where we are because that is what we have conditioned ourselves to believe we deserve. 

About Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a successful trainer and President of Woods Kovalova Group, a leading management consultancy serving Board and C-level executives, managers, and individuals by helping them create a culture of leadership. He is an author, a former fifth grade and university teacher with an impressive resume. He is beloved by audiences. To schedule a speaking engagement with Jim please schedule an engagement here. Go>. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. Connect with Jim at jim@woodskovalovagroup.com.