Failure as Success?

The speaker, Elizabeth, discusses the concept of failure as addiction. She compares her hesitation in podcasting to the addiction cycle observed in her clients. She suggests that the addiction isn't just to the addiction itself, but also to the act of quitting. When people declare their intention to quit, they receive external validation and praise, which gives them a dopamine rush. However, this validation fades, leading to repeated attempts at quitting and feelings of isolation. Elizabeth wonders if failure is the real addiction, and if people set themselves up to fail to experience the rush of trying again. She believes that success comes from overcoming the fear of failure and embracing it as part of the learning process. She also discusses the motivations of billionaires, stating that they chase the rush and addiction of winning, rather than the need for more money. She poses the question of which mindset leads to sustained success: admiration from others or internal satisfaction Hey there, today I want to take you on a journey through a topic that's been on my mind. The fascinating concept of failure as addiction. You see, I'm a certified hypnotherapist, my name is Elizabeth, and I've been doing this for over a decade. I've come across this intriguing dynamic in my practice and in my personal experiences. So picture this, I'm here to podcast like no one's listening, and that's where the twist comes in. It's the thing that holds me back in the idea of podcasting, like everybody's tuned in. It got me thinking about how this hesitation is a lot like the addiction cycle I've observed in my clients. In my line of work, folks often come to me wanting to quit smoking, shed pounds, reduce anxiety. What I've noticed is that the addiction isn't only the cigarettes or the food, it's also the act of quitting itself. Now think about that. The moment you declare your intention to quit, there's that dopamine rush, that external validation, the praise, the people say, wow, that's amazing, I know you can do this. The cheerleading squad shows up, making you feel great. But here's the kicker. The external validation fades away, leaving you in a cycle of isolation and repeated attempts at quitting. It made me ponder, is failure the real addiction here? Do we set ourselves up to fail just to experience that dopamine rush or trying again? And even deeper, do we fail harder to get the rush again? We try to succeed and then we fall off the pedestal so we can fail and people can pick us up again. The crux of the matter lies in distinguishing between the dopamine rush of trying and the dopamine rush of winning. Success, in my view, is about overcoming the fear of failure and embracing it as a crucial part of the learning process. I connect this mindset shift to the long-term pursuit of, you got it, success, drawing parallels with the motivations of billionaires chasing deals. I don't know how many people say to me, why do billionaires want to close those deals? Why do they want, they don't need any more money? And you're right, they don't need one penny more because they are not chasing the money. They are chasing the rush, the win, the addiction of winning. Now let me throw a question at you. Which mindset do you think leads to sustained success? Is it the admiration of others of your achievement or the internal satisfaction derived from consistently overcoming failures and getting the final dopamine win? Obviously, I'm leading there. It's a thought-provoking question that adds another layer to exploration of addiction to failure and the relentless pursuit of victory. As someone who's been in the business for over a decade, I've learned to navigate this terrain. I've seen clients struggle with the addiction to quit and witness the transformations when they embrace failure as a stepping stone to success, not a means to start all over again to get back to where they just failed. So here I am podcasting like no one's listening, sharing my musings on failing, success, and everything in between. I actually came to doing this podcast because of this exact cycle. I was on an app called Clubhouse, great app, check it out if you don't know about it. I was in a room. The host was a guy named Favor, and he was talking about introduction to podcasting. I got up on stage, which is a term in the app, and by the end of chatting with Favor, I declared that I was going to do a podcast in one week. The people in the audience were applauding me, telling me, wow, you set the bar high. Everyone was very excited or seemed excited for me. They didn't know me, but they seemed excited for me, and on went the cycle. It is two weeks later, not one week, but two weeks later, and I am recording this podcast because I went through all of this stuff, but as I was recording it, I was like, well, I can't let the podcasters down because success is the goal. So here I am podcasting like no one's listening, and thank you for not listening, but also thank you, of course, for listening. During my musings on all of these things, I want to let you know that I'm all ears, well, metaphorically speaking. You can even leave a direct note, voice note, if that's your thing. You can do it on Clubhouse, and I don't know, maybe other podcast platforms have that as well, as I am new. As I reflected on this podcast, I'm also reminded that success to me is about overlooking my failures, seeing it as my learning opportunity, and being okay with the journey, even if it involves a few hiccups along the way, as a matter of fact, expecting the hiccups along the way, expecting I'm going to say when I try to podcast, oh my gosh, I don't know how to host a podcast, maybe I should just quit now, but instead prevailing, there's Google, I've got it, I can do this, and moving forward. I didn't have a cheer squad, but I had myself, and I moved forward on the journey, so even if it involves a few hiccups, so I want you to dive into the intricacies of the mind, the addiction to failure, and the pursuit of the sweet, sweet dopamine rush, or the sweet, sweet dopamine win. Please keep this in mind as you go in through your cycle, and how to override it. Stay tuned for further podcasts on how the brain affects your motivation. Cheers, and have a fantastic failing, overcoming, failing day.