you didnât fail, you just didnât shift.
and yes, there is a difference.
the definition of failing is âa weakness, especially in a person's character; a shortcoming.â and this definition is going to serve as the baseline for my point about why you shouldnât conflate ânot shiftingâ with failing.
not shifting is simply an outcome but failing is a judgment of self. when you say âi failedâ OR you begin cycling through various thoughts that make you believe youâre incapable of shifting, youâre not just describing what happened but assigning meaning to it as well. youâre saying that something about you is lacking. that you did something wrong. that youâre not capable.
but thatâs simply not true. you just didnât shift. period.
nothing about that sentence implies weakness or that youâre incapable. itâs just a neutral observation of what occurred.
but the moment you label it as failure or treat it like failure, you turn a neutral experience into something personal. something that now feels like it reflects badly on who you are instead of just what happened.
and thatâs why youâre disappointed each time. because in the back of your mind, youâre still treating the shift like something youâre incapable of getting. you still feel itâs above you in some way and thatâs why you hold onto the shame of not making it. you donât categorize it as a neutral âi didnât shiftâ but a personal âi failed to shift.â
that disappointment is just the result of you processing not receiving something you pedestalâeven when you âworkedâ for it. but iâm here to remind you that you as a person, as a soul, did not fail. you just didnât shift⊠and thatâs okay.
we have to stop equating these two things because it makes the entire process feel way more serious than it actually is. you already have every tool within you. you already shift with every decision you make. so holding onto these past attempts as an identity of failure just turns something that should be fluid and natural into something that feels like a test.
but you shifting is not a barometer for how capable you are. youâre not losing points every time it doesnât happen. so donât apply extra meaning to simple things. just say what happened.
âi didnât shift last night.â and then move on.
and if you canât do that without applying an identity of failure around it, iâd rather you not address it at all. work towards freeing yourself from the judgement. practice your self concept. speak LIFE into yourself. it will free you from a lot of pressure.
when you remove the weight, you stop making it harder than it needs to be. and shifting has no reason to be this hard.
persistence post for when it âdoesnât workâ