The will to fail is the path to success!
Understanding failure today will help you to never-again be afraid or worry about it.
3 minutes 25 seconds read. Issue #10
Have you ever wondered what the secret is behind every successful person?
After studying and interacting with a few of them, I realized they all shared several traits. But for now, we'll concentrate on just one.
They all experienced dips (fails), but it didn't keep them from moving forward. They were mindful of what failure meant and the opportunities it offers.
So, in the next 3 minutes, let's understand failure.
What is failure?
Failure is the lack of success and the inability to complete a task or achieve a goal.
It didn't work out. It didn't pull through.
Like light is to darkness, and happiness is to sadness, so is failure to success. Both are essential for the other to exist.
Where there is no darkness, light is useless. Success is meaningless if there is no failure.
Failure is inevitable.
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” — Jack Canfield.
Anthony, a 10-month-old baby, was sticking a Garfield toy in his mouth in the sitting room. Saliva is all over the toy. He saw his mom making food in the dining room. "This looks yummy," he thought, "I have to get that."
He took his first and second steps at that moment and then saw his mom's face light up with joy. While giggling, "I am doing it finally, I am walking like every other human out there," he thought. We all know what happens next.
No baby perfected walking on his first 50 attempts. Talk less of the first attempt. But most people stop after the first failed attempt. According to science, 92% of the world either tried or gave up along the way.
Failure is inevitable.
Imagine being scared of something you can't escape. It's like being scared of breathing.
Best to embrace it.
Failure’s impact depends on perspective.
“Your attitude towards failure determines your altitude after failure.” ~ John C. Maxwell
What do you see failure as?
While some see failure as an opportunity to learn and to better themselves, others see it as a means to an end. The full stop to their journey.
Failure is "good” or "bad” depending on your perspective.
Growing up, failing is as terrible as committing a crime. The school system, religious institutions, and the home all shunned failure. There were punishments for failing.
We even prayed against failure, hoping for a shortcut to success’s doorstep. This activated the part of our brain to kick against and also shunned failure.
So, what is your perspective about failure?
“It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success.” - Ellen DeGeneres
Failure is a teacher.
“You learn more in failure than you ever do in success”—Jay Z.
That word, learn, is an inbuilt ability for all living beings. A powerful one at that. It goes beyond the 4-walls of a classroom, the home, church, or any other institution.
Our drive for mastery and growth started after birth. We learned how to sit, crawl, walk, and talk.
Thousands of times in our lifetime, we have failed at one thing or the other.
What would have happened if Anthony hadn’t tried again after falling that first time?
He would never have perfected walking. He won’t be a member of the elite group of walkers.
People's responses to failure make an enormous difference in their life.
To some, it's an opportunity to push on to new learning, deeper persistence, more vigorous commitment, and more courageous action. For others, failure means utter defeat—a sense of discouragement, a loss of hope, and a desire to hide.
Note this: Way before you could speak words, you were already learning from failure, so why stop now?
Failure is pain.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy
Don't you know that pain and growth work hand in hand?
You can't grow without pain.
Ask the most successful person you know to narrate his story. He will talk about his hundreds of failures.
What separates them from others is their desire to grow. They saw failure as an opportunity to better themselves. An opportunity to move one step further. A series of failures led to an unfathomable success.
This is a growth-oriented perspective.
The most common phrase in the gym is “No Pain, No Gain.”
Pain is the price you pay for growth. That's the principle. A seed has to first die underground before growing its first leaf.
If you want to grow, you have to pay the price, which is pain. Little Anthony has to fall over 100 times before he can master the art of walking.
Failure is painful but it’s worth it.
Failure that doesn’t present lessons is just sufferings.
Change your attitude about failure and you will find yourself more calm and positive in your life's endeavors.
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Thanks for reading.
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This is mind blowing.