We see it all the time, especially among young athletes and performers. They have excelled and are doing remarkably well for their age, and may even have received some acclaim. However, just a few years later, they have faded completely from the limelight, never fully living up to the potential we, and everyone else, had seen in them. When we hear from their coaches or managers, they generally tell the tale of a star athlete or performer losing their focus and discipline, having experienced a glimmer of success.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, you may be able to personally identify with, or are likely also know someone who has never fully recovered from an especially sad or sobering experience. The guilt, shame, and sense of failure, loom like a shadow over them and continue to shape not only their outlook on life but also the decisions they make.

When we experience failures or go through challenging situations, how we process the experience and the aftermath is critical. Yes, it is important to learn lessons from those experiences, but if the sense of failure still weighs unduly on you, it may be prudent to seek expert help, to help you to continue to process the situation and make peace with it.

Having said this, the ideal is to be able to maintain a balanced approach and perspective on life. Admittedly and from time to time, you may swing to the extremes, but you will not be able to be the best version of yourself and live your best life if you stay in any of these states for too long.

 

Throughout the day, we invite you to revisit this quote. Below are a few questions you may wish to ask yourself, and those who journal may find them especially useful:

• Am I walking the middle path in my life?
• Can I recall a situation when I allow success to go to my head? What is my perspective on that experience now?
• To what degree are past failures casting a shadow on my current life?

 

 

Best wishes and have a great day!