Bijal chats to her friend, to find out about her unique approach to setting ourselves targets.
As we move further into the year, we often reflect on the New Year’s resolutions we set ourselves in January. I chatted to Ellie Lilliott, an Engineering Graduate at Rolls Royce, who took a different approach to setting herself targets in 2024. Here’s some of the amazing advice she shared with me:
Ellie Lilliott:
For many years, I couldn’t stand the idea of failing, which meant I either didn’t put myself in a position where I could fail, or I would absolutely implode if I did. So, last year I set my New Year’s resolution, to get 10 rejections/failures over the year, to try and help me become more comfortable with failing. To be honest, I started out with a goal of 52 (one per week), but that plan was quickly ditched as I found it was unrealistic!
Thinking in this way about rejections/failures meant that whatever I did, I couldn’t lose. I either achieved what I set out to do, or I contributed to my New Year’s resolution. I hoped I’d become more resilient from it, and more comfortable being vulnerable and taking risks. That definitely happened, because I completely reframed how I looked at anything I attempted or failed at. I found I could actually learn when I faced a rejection, and there was lots to learn, from interview techniques to introspection, to coping strategies.
I also went on to find that the challenge was a lot harder to achieve than I thought. Ultimately, I only managed four rejections. These were:
- A national role with the Scouts
- A national project with the Scouts
- A national role with the Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC)
- A writing program
Instead, I achieved the following:
- Joined the UK Youth Advocate Team and Role Pool with the Scouts, taking me to Parliament and the Labour Party Conference (sitting on panels, podcasts, and meeting members of Parliament and the House of Lords)
- Secured a place on the Madagascar 2025 expedition with the Scouts
- Finished my Gold Duke of Edinburgh and King’s Scout Awards
- Received my Cadet Forces Commission
- Contributed to the RAFAC International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE) program
- Led the OPEN (Rolls Royce’s neurodiversity and disability group) Early Careers team
- Achieved Adventurous Training and First Aid Qualifications
- Achieved my 2nd Kyu Karate belt
- Passed my driving test
- Went on expeditions to Scotland, Norway and Denmark
I wouldn’t have achieved, or even considered, half of these if I’d waited for the perfect time or not applied at all, out of fear of failure.
My message for everyone else is that you’re capable of a lot more than you think, but you’ll never find that out if you don’t step out of your comfort zone. Just try! The worst thing that can happen is it doesn’t work out, and that’s not the end of the world. It still feels just as gutting every time it doesn’t work out, but you’ll have some perspective that it’s not the end.
Two quotes that I think summed my experience up were, Winston Churchill’s, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” and Nelson Mandela’s, “I never lose. I either win, or I learn.”
It was a bonkers year, and definitely my best so far. I guess it’s ironic that I failed at my New Year’s resolution in 2024 (does that make the total five?), but it certainly wasn’t a failure.