Failure Is Your Ticket to Success
What I’m about to say might surprise you: failure is a good thing.
Of course, failing all the time isn’t great, but a healthy dose of failure is the best motivator you can have. Here’s why.
If everything worked out perfectly every time, success wouldn’t be so sweet — we’d be immune to its impacts. Failure highlights moments when things do work out, and we succeed. Think of the first time you tried a new endeavor, even something as simple as running a 5K.
The first time around was probably less than spectacular, but each time after got better and better, till finally, you were able to look back at your initial “failure” with a feeling of real pride for how far you’ve come.
What is worse: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret? In my opinion, regret is one of the worst feelings of all time.
Imagine ten years from now looking back and thinking:
Even if you fail, you have the peace of mind knowing you gave it a shot. Don’t open the opportunity for speculation about the “what ifs.”
Failure is a profoundly emotional experience. In college, you spent years learning material in the classroom, yet your most profound lessons likely occurred in your personal life, where you had emotions invested.
Failure is also a system of trial and error — it eliminates potential opportunities for success. Through failure we learn what works and what doesn’t, thus bringing us one step closer to success.
Once you’ve failed and survived, failure becomes less scary. You build a coat of armor against fear and doubt; you gather an arsenal of tools, skills and abilities so you can be better next time around.
Think of how athletes get stronger by lifting weights: first, the tissue is damaged and temporarily weakened, but when it grows back it is stronger and more capable than before. With every defeat, we grow back stronger.
You never know what you’re capable of until you try. Staying in your comfort zone will prevent you from reaching your peak and knowing your limits. You may be underestimating yourself, simply by “playing it safe.”
On the other hand, failure teaches us where are opportunities for growth are. For example, when I wrote my first book, I learned I still had a fear of judgment and rejection from my peers.
If I had never written my first book, I wouldn’t have realized how great this fear was or had the desire to overcome it and step into my greatness.
It’s easy to confuse failure with misfortune. We think because we have failed, we are a victim or have bad luck. While failure may close the door on one opportunity, it certainly opens the window to another, even a more lucrative one.
Humans have a will to survive and will take great lengths to achieve their heart’s desire. Instead of running from failure, try to embrace it and consider the hand it has in your own personal recipe for success.