Accepting Failure

Most people are afraid of the scary, and ominous F word. The truth is that failure is something we all are going to experience at some point in our lives. Even if you are a perfectionist, mistakes are going to be made. It is how we bounce back from these disappointments that will determine our resiliency and our willingness to try again.

If you’re doing something to challenge yourself, there’s there is a good chance letdowns will occur along that path you pursue. It is important to not let the fear of failure get in the way of attempting to achieve something in your life. If you are applying for a raise or a promotion, or if you’re an athlete trying to set a new personal record, circumstances may not always go as well as planned. It is absolutely necessary that you learn from your breakdowns and disappointments. Take the time to figure out think about what mistakes you made, what you learned from your previous attempt and what you might do to improve next time. This is an opportunity for growth. Wasting energy by feeling sorry for yourself or blaming others does not get you any positive results.

The next time around, remain focused on the task at hand. Work towards your goal keeping in mind what you learned from your last defeat, but also understanding that this is a brand new opportunity for success. For example, If you are a half marathon runner, and you did not achieve your desired finishing time in your first race, it does very little good to focus on your previous mistakes during the second race. Those errors should have already been addressed and framed in a positive way that will assist you in achieving your goal. Instead, you want to focus on the skills that you want to improve and enjoy the second race while you were running it. You will find that is much easier to achieve your desired outcome when you stay in the moment, focus on your objective, and forget about your previous mistakes.

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”
-CS Lewis