There’s a big difference between feeling like a failure and actually failing at something – one is a perception while the other is an occurrence. Learning the difference can propel you to try instead of never even attempting!

Show Notes

Practices:

Editorializing – when a 2-year-old spills milk, it’s just spilled milk. When a 6-year-old spills milk, her inner voice says, “I let mommy down, I am bad.” Between ages 2 and 6, we begin to editorialize everything we do and add a story to our actions.

Aware of inner critic – becoming aware  helps us to recognize negative thinking and manage it.

Intentionally naming – give your negative voice a name like “Failure Frank” to help you recognize it and make a choice in how you listen to it.

If love… – calm the fear of failure by asking, “If I’m acting from a place of love, how can it be wrong?”

Reframing – consider true feelings and state those instead

Turn self-sabotage into encouragement: 1) Identify negative voices, 2) isolate them 3) ask someone you trust “Is this true?” 4) speak truth to the negativity, 5) bless and release the failure (if there was one)

Scripture:

Redemptive work of God – there is always a second chance; we do not need to fear failure!

1 Cor 13:8 – “Love never fails.” (God never fails)

Acts 5:38 – “For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men.”

References:

Untethered Soul by Michael Singer – personifying inner thoughts and voices in order to manage them

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown – “perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don’t exist in the human experience”