Weekly Thought > Personal Growth > Don't Look Back & Don't Delay Accepting Failure

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Don't Look Back & Don't Delay Accepting Failure

Fred wrote a letter to a friend that he titled, How to Get Along By Really Trying. He was spoofing the play, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

In it, he listed 12 do’s and 5 don’ts for successful living. Last week we introduced them: 1) Don’t ever give up; 2) Don’t look back; 3) Don’t delay accepting failure; 4) Don’t settle for it might have been; 5) Don’t panic.

This week we feature #s 2 and 3. You can think of this as Fred’s letter to you.

2) Don't Look Back

Look all you want before starting, but once you begin ----move on. Fears may plague youcriticisms may come thick and fastself-doubt may creep inproblems will surface, but don’t give up or look back. The Bible says, He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of Me. Once the plow is in motion, finish the row. And remember, Lot’s wife. She looked back and ended up not worth her salt!A well-known gastroenterologist once told me he honestly believed he could cure half of the stomach trouble in his patients if he could get them to forget the past. And the Apostle Paul put it well when he said, Forgetting the things that are behind, I press forward. It’s important to forget the successes, as well as the failures.

Now, I’m not suggesting full speed ahead and the devil take the hindmost. Rather, I am suggesting thoughtful, planned speed ahead. You can make course corrections when necessary, but always drive through the windshield, not the rearview mirror.

3) Don’t Delay Accepting Failure

So many people are not willing to recognize a genuine failure when it happens. It may seem incongruous at this point to mention failure after I have stressed so heavily the value of not giving up, but they are not incompatible. Failures are inevitable.

Recognize them, accept them after you have made your best effort. Then bury them in the graveyard of your experience. Churchill was known by his famous, Never, never, never, never, never give up. A scalawag offered another viewpoint which is equally helpful: When the horse is dead, dismount.

Wisdom calls us to know the difference and act accordingly.

This week think about: 1) Where am I second-guessing a decision? 2) What action imy life requires putting my hand to the plow? 3) How do I deal with dead horses?