10 TOP REASONS WHY PEOPLE FAIL
It is certainly without doubt, that most failures in our lives could have been averted or avoided if we had put in place certain precautions which are necessary to our success.
That is to say, we are most times responsible for our mistakes and failures because of certain decisions we make which went the wrong way. An old proverbs says, “If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you won’t be able to sit for weeks.”
Hence the question: why do people still fail when there is every opportunity or chance to succeed? What are the top reasons why some people still belong to the ‘Mediocre Club’?
I got the following ten (10) reasons why people fail from the Book, Failing Forward by John C Maxwell. They include:
1. POOR PEOPLE SKILLS:
According to Carole Hyatt and Linda Gottlied, “Most careers involve other people. You can have great academic intelligence and still lack social intelligence, that is, the ability to be a good listener, to be sensitive toward others, to give and take criticism well.” In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, a former American president, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
2. A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE:
John C Maxwell says, “If your circumstances constantly get you down, then maybe it’s time for a change, not in your situation but in your attitude. If you can learn to make the best of any situation, you can remove a formidable obstacle that stands between you and your dreams.” In other word, your attitude is that little thing that makes a big difference between your success and failure. An old saying says, “Two men looked from prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars.”
3. A BAD FIT:
It’s often hard to succeed in a profession or calling that does not suit you! It’s like sticking a square peg in a round hole. It just won’t fit in! The fact is this: every career or vocation needs relevant skills, dispositions and abilities which are unique in themselves. And you would only fare well in that place if only you have what it takes to be there and stay there! For John C. Maxwell, “Few things in life are more frustrating than being stuck in a profession or organization that doesn’t suit you.”
4. LACK OF FOCUS:
John went further to say this, “Bad things happen when a person doesn’t focus…. If you go from task to task without making any progress, or you can’t seem to reach a goal no matter how much effort you give it, examine your focus. No one can move forward without it”.
5. A WEAK COMMITMENT:
Success in any endeavour requires a strong commitment, a persevering spirit, and a motivated drive that pushes you forward, through good times and bad. A strong commitment is the ability to stick to your responsibilities with enthusiasm, which is necessary to the successful completion of any task or project. According to Johann Wolfang von Goethe, “Until one is committed, there is hesitance, the chance to draw back, and always ineffectiveness.”
6. UNWILLINGNESS TO CHANGE:
Show me a person who is unwilling to change or someone who is rigid and unbending and I will show you a failure in the making! Nothing goes forward by being constant, except change itself!
The First Law of Motion states that, “a body will continue to be in a permanent state of rest until acted upon by an external force.” That external force is CHANGE. Change is the catalyst for personal growth and development. John C Maxwell says, “Perhaps the most relentless enemy of achievement, personal growth and success is inflexibility.”
7. SHORT-CUT MIND SET:
It is said that a common obstacle to success is the desire to cut corners and take the short road to success. Most people fail because they want easy gains but not ready to endure the pains that are inevitable.
There are no thrills without frills! Behind the glory is a story of hard work, diligence, commitment, concentration and resilience. Most times, you must be willing to do what you don’t like in order to get what you want. Listen to this, “The common denominator of success lies in forming the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do” ( Albert Gray).
8. RELYING ON TALENT ALONE:
David Bayles and Ted Orland sums it up this way, “ Even at best, talent remains a constant, and those who rely upon that gift alone, without developing further, peak quickly and soon fade to obscurity.”
Talent is a raw potential which must be harnessed and developed through skills development, practice, learning and equipping for success.
9. A RESPONSE TO POOR INFORMATION:
In a world of information explosion, it is very easy to come across wrong or poor information which if acted upon will lead to failure in most cases.
In order to succeed where others have failed, you must learn to filter any information available to you and separate the relevant from the irrelevant. And you must validate the relevant information to ensure if it is up to date or not. According to General Douglas Mac Author, “ Expect only 5% of an intelligence report to be true or accurate. The trick of a good commander is to isolate the 5%.
10.NO GOALS:
Perhaps the greatest reason why people fail is due to lack of goals, aim and objectives to direct their steps and upon which to concentrate their efforts. Don Marquis posited, “ Ours is a world where people don’t know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it”.
But “ A goal is nothing more than a dream with a time limit” ( Joel L Griffth)
Conclusively, if you are on the failure highway, then perhaps it’s high time you stopped and did a rethink. The question might not be, “What am I doing wrong?" but “What am I not doing right?
Remember
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE
CHOOSE TO CHANGE
CHOOSE TO SUCCEED!
That is to say, we are most times responsible for our mistakes and failures because of certain decisions we make which went the wrong way. An old proverbs says, “If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you won’t be able to sit for weeks.”
Hence the question: why do people still fail when there is every opportunity or chance to succeed? What are the top reasons why some people still belong to the ‘Mediocre Club’?
I got the following ten (10) reasons why people fail from the Book, Failing Forward by John C Maxwell. They include:
1. POOR PEOPLE SKILLS:
According to Carole Hyatt and Linda Gottlied, “Most careers involve other people. You can have great academic intelligence and still lack social intelligence, that is, the ability to be a good listener, to be sensitive toward others, to give and take criticism well.” In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, a former American president, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
2. A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE:
John C Maxwell says, “If your circumstances constantly get you down, then maybe it’s time for a change, not in your situation but in your attitude. If you can learn to make the best of any situation, you can remove a formidable obstacle that stands between you and your dreams.” In other word, your attitude is that little thing that makes a big difference between your success and failure. An old saying says, “Two men looked from prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars.”
3. A BAD FIT:
It’s often hard to succeed in a profession or calling that does not suit you! It’s like sticking a square peg in a round hole. It just won’t fit in! The fact is this: every career or vocation needs relevant skills, dispositions and abilities which are unique in themselves. And you would only fare well in that place if only you have what it takes to be there and stay there! For John C. Maxwell, “Few things in life are more frustrating than being stuck in a profession or organization that doesn’t suit you.”
4. LACK OF FOCUS:
John went further to say this, “Bad things happen when a person doesn’t focus…. If you go from task to task without making any progress, or you can’t seem to reach a goal no matter how much effort you give it, examine your focus. No one can move forward without it”.
5. A WEAK COMMITMENT:
Success in any endeavour requires a strong commitment, a persevering spirit, and a motivated drive that pushes you forward, through good times and bad. A strong commitment is the ability to stick to your responsibilities with enthusiasm, which is necessary to the successful completion of any task or project. According to Johann Wolfang von Goethe, “Until one is committed, there is hesitance, the chance to draw back, and always ineffectiveness.”
6. UNWILLINGNESS TO CHANGE:
Show me a person who is unwilling to change or someone who is rigid and unbending and I will show you a failure in the making! Nothing goes forward by being constant, except change itself!
The First Law of Motion states that, “a body will continue to be in a permanent state of rest until acted upon by an external force.” That external force is CHANGE. Change is the catalyst for personal growth and development. John C Maxwell says, “Perhaps the most relentless enemy of achievement, personal growth and success is inflexibility.”
7. SHORT-CUT MIND SET:
It is said that a common obstacle to success is the desire to cut corners and take the short road to success. Most people fail because they want easy gains but not ready to endure the pains that are inevitable.
There are no thrills without frills! Behind the glory is a story of hard work, diligence, commitment, concentration and resilience. Most times, you must be willing to do what you don’t like in order to get what you want. Listen to this, “The common denominator of success lies in forming the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do” ( Albert Gray).
8. RELYING ON TALENT ALONE:
David Bayles and Ted Orland sums it up this way, “ Even at best, talent remains a constant, and those who rely upon that gift alone, without developing further, peak quickly and soon fade to obscurity.”
Talent is a raw potential which must be harnessed and developed through skills development, practice, learning and equipping for success.
9. A RESPONSE TO POOR INFORMATION:
In a world of information explosion, it is very easy to come across wrong or poor information which if acted upon will lead to failure in most cases.
In order to succeed where others have failed, you must learn to filter any information available to you and separate the relevant from the irrelevant. And you must validate the relevant information to ensure if it is up to date or not. According to General Douglas Mac Author, “ Expect only 5% of an intelligence report to be true or accurate. The trick of a good commander is to isolate the 5%.
10.NO GOALS:
Perhaps the greatest reason why people fail is due to lack of goals, aim and objectives to direct their steps and upon which to concentrate their efforts. Don Marquis posited, “ Ours is a world where people don’t know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it”.
But “ A goal is nothing more than a dream with a time limit” ( Joel L Griffth)
Conclusively, if you are on the failure highway, then perhaps it’s high time you stopped and did a rethink. The question might not be, “What am I doing wrong?" but “What am I not doing right?
Remember
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE
CHOOSE TO CHANGE
CHOOSE TO SUCCEED!
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