If failing was an Olympic sport I’m a three time defending gold medalist. I make an art form of failing. I fail in such spectacular fashion that I even impress myself. The one thing I keep reminding myself is that failure is part of the process. Without adversity and obstacles how is one suppose to grow and learn from their mistakes?
The mere thought of failing instills this type of paralyzing fear into people that they don’t take chances in life. They’re content with the status quo and never trying to rock the boat. The problem with that thinking is that one will never go anywhere in life if they’re not willing to take the risk. Yes, failure is always an inherent consequence associated with risk. When you take a risk you either succeed or you fail. The only way you don’t achieve either is if you stand still and not take a risk. I can’t be one of those people who just sits there because I’m too concerned about the potential for failure.
Failure has this negative stigma attached to it. Without failure how are we to learn from our mistakes? Failure is negative in the sense we didn’t achieve what we set out to, but it’s also positive in the lessons it teaches us. In the grand scheme of things, failure is part of the process.
Failure is a test of character. A test of will power. Does failure make you want to give up entirely or does it add fuel to the fire that burns with our desire to be successful? Does failing make you a failure or does quitting before you achieve your goal make you a failure?
I found what makes me happy and I held it long enough to know I have to get it again. And in my attempt to make that temporary happiness permanent I’ve failed. I’ve had such debilitating, ego crushing defeats in my attempts that there were times I had the slightest thought or notion of quitting. That the bruises and scars from failure were to much for me to bare. In those rare instances I knew that happiness in achieving my goal was well worth the battle inflicted wounds. Failure isn’t going to stop me from going after what I deserve. When it feels like all is lost and that last glimmer of light twinkling at the end of the dark, forsaken tunnel gets smaller with each step, I reassure myself that failure is part of the process. Failure is part of my journey.
When we see successful people we tend to focus on their accomplishments, but I’m pretty sure they have had more failures that successes in their life. Each one of those failures molded them to continue their quest for success. There isn’t a successful person who hasn’t had their share of failures. Failure is part of the process. It’s part of my process and it’s part of the process of every successful person. Failure should be part of everyone’s process who are taking the risks to get what they want in life.
For those people who never experienced failure or claimed to never have, I have to believe they’ve never risked any or everything to get what they truly want. That they’re content with just standing still while the world and life passes them by. For those people I feel bad. They will never know what true happiness. What success feels like.
As my journey in life continues I know failure will be a part of it. I can’t deny that or think failure will never happen. I could be the most successful person and still experience failure. It’s unavoidable. What I can control is how I react to that adversity. Do I lay down and quit without as so much as a whimper or will I pull myself up and try again? It’s the question we all need to ask ourselves when faced with failure. Quit or keep going? You can interpret failure as a negative or embrace the positive in failure. Learn the lesson that failure taught so the next time you can have the success.
It’s about moving forward and finding new ways over and around life’s obstacles. If it was easy we all would be successful, but the world doesn’t work that way. What will you do when confronted with your next failure? Will you just give up or will you move forward? The choice is yours.