How Success Favors A Tootsie Pop

I know this is weird, but I was thinking recently about how success is like a Tootsie Pop. I know, “Weirdo”, but hear me out. (And FYI, I take “weirdo” as a compliment!)

I just wrapped up a beta testing cycle for a mini-course on resilience and I am savoring some major breakthroughs. The course is called Building Your Resilience In Midlife: How To Bounce Back From Anything Life Throws At You. Yes, ANYTHING!

It is a bonus for joining my newly launched membership & community, Unraveling Together.

In it, I walk you one through the process of coming out the other side of adversity, not only intact, but stronger than before.

The principles I share in this work apply to any and everyone. There is no silver spoon of resilience. There is no “chosen one”. We do the choosing. We can choose to lean in and grow, or step back and shrink.

Lean In Or Shrink

In my 25 years as a physician and a few years in the anti-human trafficking sector, I have seen people heal from the most tragic of circumstances. I have also seen people shrink into a shell of what they once were when adversity pinned them to the mat.

Although it is technically true that we will never fail if we never try, is that any way to live?

Failure is the best teacher we’ve got going for us. Failure is something everyone has access to and is guaranteed to experience. Yes, even the kids whose parents bubble wrap them. (I feel sorry for those kids, don’t you?)

I subscribe to the mantra: “fail faster”. It is the only way to get to the success-center in a more expedited manner. Here’s where the Tootsie Pop comes in. Like the Tootsie Pop, there is no universal number of licks (AKA failures) until we reach the chocolaty goodness of success.

Life’s Candy Aisle

Any confection in life’s candy aisle is going to have some sweet, some tart, some savory and the potential for upsetting the tummy. Such is life.

The remedy that sends the fear of failure packing is resilience.

There are many ways to build resilience, but using failure as an opportunity to hone this skill is one of the best means for cultivating a growth mindset.

As I often say to the women I speak with, resilience is the rebellious midlife woman’s superpower. Without it, the status quo and its minions will try to suck us back into the Octagon of Obliviousness when given their first opportunity. Only rebels escape.

We must channel our inner rebel.

That octagon may be their playground; resilience is ours.

Coping with failure isn’t always easy, but it is an opportunity for growth. In fact, it is one of the best ways that we can grow as a person. Every failure is a lesson in what went wrong, and by focusing on growth we can cultivate a mindset that flips failure into a positive.

Failure Equals Opportunity

Although it can be difficult, changing your mindset around failure will make you more resilient. Use failure as an opportunity for growth. If you focus on how you can grow each time you fail, pervasive negative thoughts will be replaced with opportunistic ones.

Keep this in mind: resilience is rooted in growth. Growth leads to success.

Some thoughts to ponder.