It didn’t work. True or false?

How many times have you been certain that something failed? That it didn’t work? It’s been many for me. We often don’t have to look any farther than our health to find those moments.

The diet didn’t work.
The supplements didn’t work.
The medication didn’t work.
The yoga classes didn’t help.
The coaching didn’t help.
They didn’t work.

Nothing worked.

While there is no doubt that in some cases those statements may be true, all too often they are false. But the truth can be tough to hear and even harder to accept.

Here is the truth most often: I didn’t work.

Part of saying yes to what we want is saying yes to the work it requires.

It can be a convenient explanation when something doesn’t go as planned to just say it didn’t work. But in most cases, the failure isn’t due to some inherent impossibility of the task, but rather a lack of effort, planning, or commitment on our part.

I did some research on this very human tendency and came across the trap of “attribution bias.”  We tend to give ourselves credit for success but in the face of failure, we assign blame to bad luck, circumstances, or even others.

In the end, for something to work, we must take responsibility for doing the work. By taking ownership and acknowledging our stake in both successes and failures we will ultimately open the doors that will take us to the highest levels of learning, growth, and performance.

It’s not just about saying YES. It’s about saying YES, and…  Yes and I will do what it takes.

Jim Rohn taught that there were four steps to achieving anything:

1)    Believe it is possible

2)    Believe it is possible for you

3)    Do the work

4)    Make the sacrifices

Another excellent source of wisdom on the subject is author Steven Pressfield. His book, “Do the Work” was published in 2011. That’s twelve years ago. Since then, I’ve been reading it at least once a year because it’s often the shot in the arm I need to fight against any resistance I’m allowing and using as an excuse.

His teachings are concise and straightforward, which appeals to me. His book reads like a manifesto!

“Our enemy is not lack of preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project, or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do.

We can never eliminate Resistance. It will never go away. But we can outsmart it, and we can enlist allies that are as powerful as it is.” 

— Steven Pressfield

Here’s to the time we can say:  It Worked! Because we did.