Sunday, 05 November 2017 04:57

Handling Failure. Featured

Written by
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Why are you avoiding failing, and why does it look like it is the end of the world when you fail at something dear? To define failure in any context, you must first ask: what are you falling short of? What standards are you lacking? By which metrics are you failing? You can’t truly know what it means to fail if you don’t know what it means to succeed.

I have failed so many times in my life. I still fail sometimes, but I am not a failure. I know that school sabotage our relationship with failure. It installs in us some negative ways to deal with and handle failure. The results of your test and exams, states if you passed or failed. If you fail, there are consequences—your teachers and parents might be disappointed with you, you probably won’t get into the next class or the next level of your program. You might repeat or be kicked off. The price of failing is a very high price. You just can’t afford to fail.

Having this in mind, we have a terrible relationship with failure. Our educational system literally teaches us to associate failing with people being angry with us, opportunity slipping away, and having to spend our entire summers at school while our friends are all having fun outside. The message we learn from this is not positive. It instils the fear of failing in us. The moment you have the fear of failing, you will attract more failing. It is a never ending vicious cycle. If you fail, you’ll be punished. Supposedly, if you manage to not fail, you’re OK until you fail. The problem is that this belief is horribly misguided, and it sets us up for a lifetime of failure outside of the classroom.

To get better you need to change your own definition of failure. This will enable you to change your perspective. This will enable you to see the positive in failing and attract positive results despite failing. You have no option, but to accept failing is good for you. Failure is a necessary precursor to ultimate success. Want to make it big in the real world? Fail early, fail fast, fail often, as the saying goes.

When you fail, it is the process that failed, and not you. Creating a purposeful life requires messing up and venturing into the unknown. While we all want success, this is not guaranteed. That’s why the ability to recover from setback and move forward is essential. And this starts with embracing, processing, and even benefiting from failure. Failure is the best teacher. Until you experience failure, you won’t learn the secrets embedded that will enable you to succeed. Scientists have long understood that the brain has two ways of learning. One is avoidance learning, which is a punishing, negative experience that trains the brain to avoid repeating mistakes. The other is reward-based learning, a positive, reinforcing experience in which the brain feels rewarded for reaching the right answer.

In the educational system, failure means lost opportunity. But in the real world, failure is the currency for success. There is no success without failure. No matter how brilliant you think you are, you can’t tiptoe past failure on the way to success, failure is the front door. You’re not better or smarter than failure, you’re not above it and you can’t escape it. You’re going to fail many times, probably more than you succeed. If that idea made you queasy, well, get used to it. Failure doesn’t mean you are not good enough. Failure is just a data for you to work with. It is basic information that gives insight. It is a feedback.

The currency you earn from failing is the data and information the failure presents to you. How you use this data and information will determine how successful you will become. The more times you fail, the more data you earn, and the richer and more knowledgeable you become. Failure should not be taken for granted. It should not be taken on a face value. It is valuable to fail. As a matter of fact, failure is as precious as gold. If you want to achieve anything worthwhile, you must let go of the idea that failure is something to avoid. Nobody wants to fail, but you must be willing to fail if you ever want the chance to succeed.

Life is not like a restaurant where you can choose your meal. You don’t have the choice and leisure to choose between failure and success.  It doesn’t matter how much you achieve, or how good you think you are, you’ll never be immune to failure. Expect it often. Anticipate it. Remember that even though you can have failure without success, you can’t have success without failure. Failure is inevitable.

There is always room for improvement no matter how great you are. Sometimes, you’ll never know which areas need improvement unless you fail. You learn more from failure than from success. Failure makes you stronger, not weaker. Failure shouldn’t break or stop you, because you’re unstoppable. If you break or stop, it is not because of failing, it is because you decided to give up. You made the decision to give up. You take more chances in life when you are not afraid to fail. When you fail, oftentimes you’ll realise the present path you’re on is not the right one. You invest more time, and you discover a better path that leads to your goals and objectives. Failing shows you the right path.

Whenever you fail you have a choice. It is either you focus on the facts or you focus on the emotions. If you emphasise your feelings after an instance of failure, you’ll succumb to the victim mindset. Don’t make yourself a victim. If you are a victim of failure, your focus becomes your misfortune. Victims are passive and helpless. Failure feels worse than it is if you feel like a victim.

When you fail, don’t make it personal. Just because you haven’t found a successful way of doing something doesn’t mean you are a failure.  Look at the failure analytically. Don’t be in a hurry to shove it. There are lessons to be learned. Dissect it, learn all you can. Why did you fail? What might have produced a better outcome? Was the failure completely beyond your control? After gathering the facts, step back and ask yourself, what did I learn from this?  Think about how you will apply this newly found insight going forward.

Obsessing over your failure will not change the outcome, so stop dwelling on it. Often our fear of failure is rooted in our fear of being judged and losing others’ respect and esteem. You don't need anyone’s approval. The key to success is handling failure. If you risk failure, sometimes you will fail. But every time you fail, you’re that much closer to success. Success demands its percentage of failure.

Be aware that whenever you are doing something new, learning something new, taking risks or stepping outside your comfort zone, you are risking failure. All is not lost when you fail.

29937 comments

  • Comment Link moncler outlet Thursday, 25 August 2022 13:54 posted by moncler outlet

    Thank you so much for providing individuals with remarkably nice chance to read from here. It is always so pleasurable plus stuffed with a good time for me and my office acquaintances to visit your site more than three times per week to find out the newest guidance you have got. Not to mention, I am also actually pleased with the magnificent knowledge you give. Certain 3 tips in this article are honestly the finest we have ever had.

  • Comment Link NbfyUnsub Thursday, 25 August 2022 12:11 posted by NbfyUnsub

    introduction paragraph with thesis statement examples thesis statement on global warming harvard thesis

  • Comment Link cheap kyrie 5 Thursday, 25 August 2022 09:32 posted by cheap kyrie 5

    I wanted to send you the little bit of observation so as to give many thanks again considering the spectacular pointers you have shown at this time. It has been quite unbelievably open-handed with you to convey unhampered exactly what some people might have supplied as an electronic book to help make some cash for their own end, and in particular since you could have done it if you wanted. Those basics also worked to be a fantastic way to be certain that other people online have the identical eagerness like my very own to know the truth a whole lot more with respect to this problem. Certainly there are several more pleasant moments ahead for people who start reading your blog.

  • Comment Link Eybwxwrarf Thursday, 25 August 2022 08:11 posted by Eybwxwrarf

    best resume writers nyc cheap custom term papers custom writing service

  • Comment Link gunicinden Wednesday, 24 August 2022 22:05 posted by gunicinden

    portafoglio gabs fiat 500 under armour bull logo cap adidas nite jogger damen beige gorra de calcetines robe ceintur茅e fleurie m盲nner kleidung auf rechnung bestellen
    gunicinden https://www.gunicinden.com/

  • Comment Link JvbyUtereemib Wednesday, 24 August 2022 21:29 posted by JvbyUtereemib

    parts of argumentative essay essay meme introduction for essay

  • Comment Link birkin bag Wednesday, 24 August 2022 18:36 posted by birkin bag

    Thank you a lot for providing individuals with an extraordinarily brilliant chance to read in detail from this site. It is usually very useful and also packed with a good time for me personally and my office mates to visit your web site really thrice a week to read the newest stuff you will have. And indeed, I am also always fulfilled considering the eye-popping advice served by you. Certain 1 ideas in this posting are certainly the most impressive I have ever had.

  • Comment Link Atvbstept Wednesday, 24 August 2022 16:51 posted by Atvbstept

    web writing services professional article writing services seo copywriting services

  • Comment Link kyrie 6 shoes Wednesday, 24 August 2022 16:24 posted by kyrie 6 shoes

    I in addition to my pals came looking through the nice information found on your site and suddenly I got a horrible feeling I never thanked the website owner for them. My young boys were as a consequence thrilled to learn them and now have certainly been taking advantage of these things. Appreciation for really being simply accommodating and for finding such high-quality subjects most people are really wanting to learn about. My personal sincere apologies for not expressing appreciation to you earlier.

  • Comment Link paul george shoes Wednesday, 24 August 2022 10:28 posted by paul george shoes

    I precisely had to thank you so much once again. I do not know what I might have handled in the absence of these recommendations revealed by you directly on such concern. It was before an absolute hard matter in my circumstances, nevertheless understanding the expert form you processed the issue took me to weep over fulfillment. I will be happier for your guidance and even wish you comprehend what a great job you have been putting in training people using your webblog. I am sure you've never met any of us.

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.