Blog

How do we find success, while avoiding failure? If that sounds like a question that’s almost too broad to have a good answer, don’t worry–you’re not alone. It’s not a question with a singular answer, but it’s a useful question that guides just about every person (and organization!) on Earth.

While there’s no silver bullet for success, one of our favorite lessons from our FISH! Culture workshop series focuses on building a path towards success by building a mindset around three ideas: Play, Trust, and Creativity. Each of these embodies the four pillars of the FISH! Philosophy to create a reliable methodology for finding success by confronting our fears of failure head-on.

Play inspires us let go of restricted thinking

Play isn’t just a particular game or goofing around with something fun–it’s a way of answering a vital question: “What would we be willing to do, if we knew we could not fail?”

That question can have a million answers in a million different situations, and Play allows us to find the answer to that question for our particular problem. It encourages us to brainstorm freely, tossing ideas back and forth until something brilliant reveals itself. It’s a mindset of processing every idea with an open mind, a lack of judgment, and a “no wrong answer” attitude. It’s what takes us from saying “no” because we can’t see the possibilities, to seeing nothing but possibilities. And with Play, we can build trust in others.

Trust helps us overcome our fear of failure

It’s one thing to build a sense of Play that allows us to toy with new ideas, but it’s something else entirely to put those ideas into action. While no situation is exactly the same, the most common barrier to actualizing our unique ideas is a fear of failure–but failure is a tricky thing, because it has no consistent definition.

“What is failing?” is a vital question to ask ourselves: Is failure having an idea go unused? Is it being judged by those in our community? However we define failure, it can hold us back. When we can define what failure means, we can begin to overcome it–and the FISH! Philosophy teaches us skills to bypass that fear by building a sense of trust in those around us.

When you build strong, supportive work environments by going out of your way to Make Their Day and show your team that you value them, you’re building that trust that allows us to share new and innovative ideas without fear of negativity, snark, or ignorance.

When you practice Being There by offering a caring ear, listening actively, and taking a real interest in the well-being of others in your community, you’re building those non-judgmental connections will listen to us in return–and allow us to Play with new ideas and know that they’ll be heard with an open mind.

Building a sense of not just comfort with our teams, but genuine trust can be a long process, but in doing so, we create a space that allows success to sprout naturally from that love and compassion.

Creativity pushes us forward to success

Once we find the freedom to dream big and have let go of the fear of others’ judgment when we don’t succeed, our brains become open to true creative ideas. We can continue to Play with unconsidered approaches to solutions and have the mindfulness to properly determine what works–as well as what doesn’t–without the anxiety of negative judgment.

When you channel your creativity into productive focus, that’s where “setting yourself up for success” becomes “finding success.” It’s the state of mind where we’re no longer just hypothesizing about what could be or “preparing” without taking action, but we’re actually putting those plans into motion–even if it means opening ourselves up to potential failure.

Any great thinker will tell you that there is no success without risk: you need to not only be able to toy with innovative and creative ideas to find that breakthrough, but you need to be able to Choose Your Attitude so that you have the confidence to put ideas into action without waiting endlessly for a 100% chance of success, because that certainty will never come.

If you combine your sense of Play, the trust you put in others to shield you from negative judgment, and the creativity to actualize your dreams, then you’ll find yourself on the path towards ultimate success.

Ideas to Reflect On:

• How do you practice self-awareness on a daily basis? What has it taught you about yourself?
• Has your self-awareness led to changed behavior? What’s one action you can take that you wouldn’t or couldn’t take if you weren’t aware of your own emotions?
• How can self-awareness lead to improved relationships with your coworkers? Is there anybody in particular that would likely act better towards you if you engaged them with a different attitude?

Whether you work in business, education, or healthcare, FISH! offers accessible, intuitive solutions to empower your workers, bring your team together, and avoid the symptoms of impending burnout. We invite you to contact us today at 800.695.4534 or info@charthouse.com to speak with our cultural specialists, who will help you find the right FISH! Philosophy solutions that will nurture your organizational culture and motivate your team!

Want to Implement FISH! in your organization?

Are you a leader?  Do you train others?  Do you want others to be leaders?

Charthouse Learning, the creator of the world-famous, award-winning, FISH! film is offering an in-person, 2-day workshop, interactive Train-the-Trainer lead by our Senior Trainer.

During our time together you’ll learn how to:

• Share the motivation and foundation of FISH!
• Introduce the FISH! film with the four practices.
• Present the invitation to apply the practices in everyday interaction with others.
• Build a sustainability and reinforcement program to transform the culture.
• Pick up tips from other FISH! Philosophers and develop a strategy to embed the practices into the DNA of your culture.
• Create an energized organization that is the “first choice” for employees, faculty, staff, leaders, and customers.

Plus, you will learn how to create a workplace where people choose to “be and bring” their best self everywhere, every day.

At the FISH! Train the Trainer you will:

• Dive Deep: Discover The FISH! Philosophy – full of “A-ha!” takeaways and perspective-shifting realizations.
• Transform: Make the four FISH! practices – Play, Be There, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude – an essential part of your professional and personal skill set.
• Discover: Learn practical ways to apply the FISH! practices to improve teamwork, service, leadership, retention and performance.
• Develop: Brainstorm strategies to embed The FISH! Philosophy into the DNA of your culture, strengthening your mission, vision and values.
• Collaborate: Learn and laugh with like-minded folks from across the globe.

Click Here for More FISH! Train the Trainer Information

Click Here for More FISH! Executive Briefing Information

 

Whether you work in business, education, or healthcare, FISH! offers accessible, intuitive solutions to empower your workers, bring your team together, and introduce Play into your organization. We invite you to contact us today at 800.695.4534 or info@charthouse.com to speak with our cultural specialists, who will help you find the right FISH! Philosophy solutions that will nurture your organizational culture and motivate your team!

 Join Us on Social Media: