The Global Language Monitor, which documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in language the world over, released its list of the “Top Politically (in)Correct Words for 2005,” which lists the worst examples of political correctness gone too far.

Some of the items included the use of ‘misguided criminals’ in place of ‘terrorists’ and ‘Thought Shower’ instead of brainstorm to avoid offending those with brain disorders.

Another item was the use of ‘deferred success’ in place of fail or failure, which the Professional Association of Teachers in the UK was considering in order to boost student self-esteem.

The idea to reframe failure in a more positive light is a good one, especially since it has such a negative connotation for so many people. It is something that successful people do automatically, almost without thinking about it.

The fact is that failure is a part of life, especially for high achievers. For example, it is estimated that Thomas Edison failed over one thousand times before he finally discovered a way to make the light bulb work. It is very rare for something important to be accomplished successfully on the very first try.

If you want to achieve anything significant, it is likely that you will struggle and fail many times before you finally reach your target. High achievers keep picking themselves up after each fall and continue working steadily toward their targets until they finally reach their goal. Struggle and failure are often part of the price you have to pay for high achievement.

Fear of Failure

One reason people fear failure so much is that they see it as pervasive and permanent. They think a failure will reflect negatively on everything about them including their work, their relationships, and even who they are as a person. They also see it as something that sticks with you for a long time.

High achievers see failures as learning experiences that are isolated and temporary. In their mind, a failure is just an isolated incident associated with a particular product, venture or goal. They don’t see it as something that reflects on who they are or what they are capable of doing.

They also see failures as temporary setbacks that are just pointing them in the right direction. The key is to learn something valuable from each failure to avoid the same mistakes on future attempts.

If fear of failure is keeping you from going after a goal you are excited about, reframing your definition of failure will help you conquer it.

Just remember that you may need several attempts before you learn what you need to know to finally succeed, and that each failure is just an isolated and temporary learning experience pointing you in the right direction.

About the Author - Rodger Constandse is the founder of KSuccess.com and creator of the Goal Setting Challenge. He is also the author of the time management eBook Master Your Time, and principal developer of the Achieve Planner software.