i There has been a uptick on people feeling shame and embarrassment in failing in public.

As long as you're not persona non grata for very bad reasons, chin up.

I was in a mentoring program a few weeks ago, this question popped up  from a group of passionate social venture founders. 

This amazed me because the group is doing good doing the right things.

When this question came up, I thought that it's one of these few factors.

Self-esteem issue and the need to be validated publicly. If no validation comes in, the down-side of too much introspection kicks in and putting blame on oneself needlessly becomes the go-to.

There's too much sharing in the public sphere. If you're working on some new schemes or pivots, the world has no business knowing, except those few people who should be informed.

Shame is a sign that there must be something we have done wrong either by commission or omission. If it's about failure or missing the mark as a business person or career professional without being criminally liable or being in the wrong of side of professional conduct, there's no need for this unhealthy feeling.

As what I've heard lately from the social media grapevine,

"This issue doesn't care about your feelings."

"The world doesn't care about what you feel." 

"Your feelings are not you." 

I may add to these too.

"Your feelings do not reflect who you are as a person and what you are capable of achieving "

Stop feeling ashamed by failing.

​Get used to it. 

No one's making a tally. 

Chin up. 

From my last keynote with Mines, I articulated three types of change responders:

15% are those that will not change- The Immovables.
Whether through commission or omission, they won't budge, no matter.

50% will be favorable to your change- The Converted.
This is your audience and you need to maintain their interest, alignment, and engagement. 

35% will be the agnostic - The Fence-Sitters and Hecklers. 
These are the people waiting for you to make a mistake, waiting for signs of seriousness or grave consequences for not cooperating with change. Some are resisting and will become the immovables. While some will realize their follies and get converted.

Differentiate the agnostics based on the values, interests/agenda, and emotions pervading the air and craft strategies that would best deal with these factors. 

Do not fear resistance. Resistance is a good sign of engagement. It's the placebo of a foreseeable future. Resisters can be easily dismantled based the logic they provide. Logically, once these issues are addressed, you can expect that initial passion of resistance will wane and people will adapt to their new situation. 

It's important to take a critical look at what you've got: Time/Resources/Risks

Do you all the time and resources in the world to have all these responders engaged until you win them over? Is winning them over the goal?

What constitutes a significant support to move the needle to the new direction?

What risks could you encounter when changing or continuing with the status quo? Which one would hurt the most?  

What engagement interventions will make or break the change process? 

Your call. 

You have to ask yourself, regularly, this question: Why are you successful?

What are the causes of your success?

Success could mean growth, self-improvement, societal contribution or impact, legacy, building and nurturing something that will last, financial gain, security, worldwide appeal, etc. whatever that is.

The Whys of success will encourage you to look deeper into the patterns: 

The mindset that propelled that;

The right behaviours you used;

The attitude exercised; 

When you're successful once, you can replicate it many times over.

The method of arriving at that could be modified or changed according to your bandwidth, market response, or external factors such as cooperation or approval of others. 

A lot of experts would say, that you need to give yourself the permission to be successful.

A lot of people doesn't know even that they're successful.

They keep on going in circles comparing themselves with others and undermining their own gifts and inherent advantages. 

When I get asked this question, I always go back to the beginning when I was starting.

The journey is worth every step and is far greater than the momentary thrills of those moments.

The key to success is when to know you're successful and hone in on those areas that led you down that path and never let it go.