Let’s be honest, nobody enjoys failing. Some of us are afraid of failure and some of us embrace it. Failure, as much as it hurts at times, is simply a part of life. In fact, failure is just as important as success.
What Is Failure?
In order to identify the cause behind our fear of failure, we first need to understand what "failure" actually means to us?
We are all different, we have different goals, beliefs, aspirations, dreams and benchmarks in life. Essentially, we all define “failure” differently.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” — J.K. Rowling
The Importance Of Failure:
1. Strength
Ever heard the saying, “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger”? Well, embrace it, because it's true. Failure forces us to come back stronger than before, it forces us to adapt and push beyond our comfort zone. Failure drives growth.
2. Experience
Everything we go through in life is an experience and failure is no exception to that. In fact, failing is possibly one of the most valuable lessons you can learn in life, it teaches us values and lessons that no textbook ever could. All the while when you are not able to succeed, you learn what you have been doing wrong and what is required to correct it for success.
3. Direction
Most of us second guess every big decision we make and that's natural, it's all part of the process. Which is why failure is essential, it provides direction, it provides clarity. Use it to drive and propel you forward.
4. Humility
There is something universal about failure. Everyone experiences it but only the wise learn from it. Achievement and success can lead to one being “high-headed” and as quickly as one can succeed, one can fail. Which is why failures teach us humility, which is an important virtue that keeps us grounded.
5. Opportunity
The saying, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ says it all. With every failure, there is a new opportunity to start fresh. We don’t necessarily identify the benefit of failure immediately, however, it always unknowingly presents the opportunity to hit the restart button and seek new opportunities.
Closing Thoughts:
Not convinced? Well, Thomas Edison failed for 1000 times before he could build a successful lightbulb prototype? In fact, when asked about his 1000 mistakes, he famously responded with, “I didn’t fail 1000 times. The light bulb is an invention that had 1000 steps.”
The fact of the matter is, failure is essential to success. Embrace it, learn from it and turn your failures into your successes!
