The gift of failure
Many people are afraid of trying new things because they’re afraid of failing. Perhaps we’re afraid to fail because we’ve been conditioned all our lives, by our parents, teachers, coaches, and peers, to avoid failing. Perhaps we’ve managed to achieve a track record of successes which we do not want to be blemished by a failure. Failure can lead to many undesirable consequences, both real and perceived, including financial losses and low self esteem.
Truth be told, failure is just a part of life. We’ve all had our fair share of successes and failures, no matter how hard to try hide the latter. No one can succeed in every single aspect of their life. For instance, even those of us who have managed to achieve extraordinary successes professionally may suffer dismal failures when it comes to the things like family and relationships.
How do you feel when you fail? Do you feel somehow that you’re not as smart as you thought you were? Do you go around blaming others for your failure? Do you give up when you fail?
If you answer “Yes” to any of these three questions, then you’re not going about it the right way. While failure is both normal and human, our attitude toward it makes all the difference. Maybe it helps to not take failure so personally. Not investing so much emotion in our failures enables us to see things more objectively, to analyze what we did wrong, and to avoid the same mistakes in future attempts.
Growing up in Houston, Texas, I was somewhat of a standout in school. I was one of those straight-A students who relentlessly pursued perfection. I remember one semester in which I made perfect 100’s on all of my subjects– except one: I made only 99% on my English (after all, English was my second language).
As I grew older I discovered that despite my academic successes, I was far from perfect in other aspects of life. I learned that while I was succeeding at school, I was failing miserably at other things. Now that I am a grown man, I think I’ve learned to become more humble. I’ve learned not only to come to terms with my failures, to learn from them and use them as stepping stones for future successes. Learning to accept failures as a normal part of life removes the fear of trying, thereby enhancing the chances for future success. Indeed, failing and, for that matter, succeeding, are integral to personal growth and development.
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this is very inspirational post/ article.
i actually thought that this site is only about getting money through blogging or just giving tips for bloggers (which is why i stumble here)
i agree with your point, your failure now or in the past must be your motivation for your success in the future.
btw, English is not my first language too. hehehe that’s why forgive me if there’s any error that you can see.