The psychology behind success and failure

The psychology behind success and failureThe psychology behind success and failureNeed a little inspiration? Inc has a nicelistof quotes to inspire success. Ill just share with you the top threeSuccess is not final failure is not fatal It is the curage to continue that counts. - Winston S. ChurchillIt is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. - Herman MelvilleThe road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same. - Colin R. DavisNotice anything these have in common?All three involve successandfailure. Theres a reason for this, and its the key behind the psychology of success and failure.The deal with failureIt turns out that failure is one of humanitys greatest strengths, and therefore is not the opposite of success, but actually a key factor in meeting our goals. This has been proven by evolutionary scientists such as Charles Darwin, who is credited with saying, it is not the strongest of the species that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.Changing and adapting is just what humans have done over centuries of evolution. For example, we realized early on that were too weak to hunt as individuals - our bodies are too fragile - so we adapted by hunting in groups, which evolved into ever mora complex communities, using our collective abilities that have led to not only our ability to survive, but also thrive.Babies learn through this same mechanism. Were born helpless, but gradually learn how to point at what we want so caregivers understand what we need. Through further trial and error - by making mistakes and failing sometimes - this eventually helps us learn to walk, talk, and grow into a fully realized adult human.In short, though it seems counterintuitive, we are designed to turn weakness into our greatest source of strength. Its through our failures that we learn how we need to adapt and grow in order to be successful, whether that success is finding our next meal or launching a complex busin ess venture.Failure is seen as an opportunity to learn and grow, says Los Angeles-based psychologistCrystal I. Lee. Failure is an opportunity to be embraced, analyzed, and picked apart, rather than something to run away from.Key factors behind successThe good nachrichtensendung is that the key traits needed for success - growth mindset, grit, and psychological flexibility - can be cultivated.Growth mindsetHow we view and manage failure helps cultivate success in our lives, and that starts with having a growth mindset. A growth mindset means that we believe through hard work and effort we can grow and learn, even in the face of failure. It means we believe mastery is possible if we keep trying, keep taking chances, and work toward improving. Failure is not a permanent condition.When we believe that abilities are fixed (fixed mindset), we interpret failure as evidence for the lack of ability, and we stop trying,writesLouai Rahal, based on psychologist Carol Dwecks work. When we beli eve that abilities can be stretched with learning (growth mindset), we perceive failures as opportunities for learning and we reflect on failures in order to stretch our abilities.GritIn order to stretch our abilities, we next need grit, a combination of passion and perseverance, says Lee. Having grit means relentlessly pursuing goals and not allowing setbacks to deter progress. Its more than talent, more than smarts, its a practice of constantly learning and putting in the effort.Grit is having stamina,saidprofessor and TED speaker Angela Duckworth. Grit is sticking with your future day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like its a marathon - not a sprint.Psychological flexibilityTo move forward with a growth mindset and grit, the final ingredient is psychological flexibility, or the ability to adapt behavior to a constantly changing world and the changing needs we fi nd ourselves facing.Having psychological flexibility lets people think outside of the box and be creative when confronted with an obstacle, says Lee. It also allows a person to change course as needed if what they have been doing hasnt been working.With these key traits we can learn to harness failure as a tool to move forward and persevere to be successful, but we probably cant be successful by trying to do this alone.Dont go it aloneJust like humans adaptive ability to work together as a community while hunting to avoid danger, its important for our success to reach out for help when we need it. Humans arent built to be solitary, lone creatures. We need connection and untersttzung from other people, on our worst days and even when were striving for our best.People who are successful also learn to accept help from others they dont try to do everything by themselves, says Lee. They have insight into their own limitations and are comfortable going to others with strengths in their ar eas of growth.At the end of the day, theres no reason to be afraid of failure. In fact, its a critical piece for success itself, the very reason we keep growing, learning, thriving, and ultimately, succeeding.This post first appeared on Talkspace.