Failure can feel painful. Initially it can create feelings of pain, insecurity and frustration. Most are reluctant to fail because they see it as the polar opposite to success. Yet eventually, many realize failure can be one of the best teachers in life.
In reality, often our greatest insights are obtained from when a situation does not work. Failure may shut one door, but open up a different one. And above all, it enables us to become more resilient, more intelligent and more resolute.
And that‘s the story of how failure gradually became the greatest lesson of my life.
The Beginning of High Expectations
When I first set out I thought I would be successful straight away. The desire had driven me since day one. I put in the time each day and visualized what success would look like.
Of course I wanted success to lead you to hard work, since most of success stories said how easy it was. Just put a lot of work to stay concentrated, success will come.
But life is not like this.
It didn‘t take long and the first hurdles started to be raised. Initially, they appeared to be trivial. However, gradually, the difficulties progressively increased.
The First Experience with Failure
Finally, one vital project failed to deliver the results I had expected, despite all my investment of time, energy and effort.
Failure: very heavy at that moment. Also, failure was beginning to be source of self-doubt. Questions were coming into my head.
Was I competent enough?
Did I made the wrong decision?
What is the point of all this? Where do I turn? Do I just walk away?
This line of thinking is normal whenever people experience failure. When people are failing at first and you can only think about what you did or didn‘t do correctly. I wish it were not like this, but this kind of thinking can make failure seem permanent.
Moreover, more often than not, failure is not the end.
Learning to Pause and Reflect
Eventually I took a moment to step back and reflect. Rather than failure being a conclusion or because something was not achieved I started to work with failure as Feedback.
Made a significant difference.
Initially, I examined for what failed. Subsequently, I tried to comprehend why did it happen. Gradually, I was able to understand the situation.
Failure was nothing to be afraid of because it was only evidence that I was not getting something right.
That was a revelation.
Discovering the Hidden Lessons
After I accepted failure, the lessons became more clear.
Firstly, I learned that I have to prepare. Success in what I do needs justifies planning, patience, time and regularity.
Second, I learned that there are no mistakes, just a part of growth. Every effort has something to teach.
Third, I realized the value of persistence. A lot of accomplished people failed many times in their way to success.
Due to these lessons, my attitude changed.
Failure now no longer felt like an enemy. It became a monitor.
The Power of a Growth Mindset
I then leave the pursuit of perfection and concentrate on technique and efficiency to improve. I no longer don‘t constrain myself for fear of error. Now I take on mistake as learning opportunities.
This way of thinking is referred to as a growth mindset.
A growth mindset helps people view challenges as learning opportunities. When something fails, there is a shift from blaming to improving.
Lessening the sting of failure in this way, to give it a softer touch, makes failure less formidable.
Slowly, the confidence is coming back.
Taking Action Again
With the way I was thinking I went in to try once more.
This time, it was different. I took advantage of previous failed plans and devised an improved strategy.
First, I set less ambitious and more concrete goals. Next, I focused on steady-state progress over immediate success.
And then gradually, there started to be improvements.
Success did not come overnight, but it was occurring. The more steps there were forward, the more determined her motivation to keep going.
Through this experience, I learned that we can learn from failure and succeed after this.
Why Failure Can Be Valuable
There are some lessons failure can teach us that success is unable to.
It‘s always tempting to think that your path is smooth sailing when everything goes right. Failure triggers examination of our choices and deeds.
And because of this we become more conscious of our strong and weak points.
Failure also makes people stronger. When people go through failures, they tend to be stronger and durable psychologically. They learn to cope with continuous problems.
To add on, it is reminder that we are on an ever-ongoing journey of that kind of growth.
Changing the Way We See Failure
Many people who fear failure fear it because it is seen as being something bad and negative by our society. But history has a very different tale to tell:
A lot of successful people failed many times before they finally achieved what they wanted. However, they kept learning and upgrading themselves.
This pattern reveals an important fact.
Failure is not the opposite of success; it is often the way to success.
So with acceptance, failure is easy.
Rather than declining it, we can turn it into a learning aid.
The Lesson That Changed Everything
Reflecting on it, the most important lesson I learned was very simple.
We are not failures.
Our response to it is what actually matters.
For if we don‘t learn to fail, then we don‘t learn to succeed. Otherwise, it would be impossible to learn how to succeed.
Fosters resilience, patience, and confidence.
I think failure is the teacher success cannot be.
Final Thoughts
Failure is seldom smooth. The text contains at least 3 consecutive sentences starting with the same word. Try to mix things up!
Ultimately, we may find that failure is not our enemy, but instead the teacher that guides us onto a better and more significant journey.
Sometimes great success starts with the will to learn from failure.
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