“I have not failed. I‘ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” ‒‒ Thomas A. Edison
Failure can be one of the most discouraging things we can face in life, but
with the right mindset, those failures can turn into teaching moments, which
can turn into success. Use these 4 steps to help you turn your failures into
an opportunity for growth.
1. Accept it.
We all fail at some point in our lives, Its part of what makes us human, but Its what we do with failure that makes the difference. Some people get so caught up in their failures that it consumes their lives.
Dwelling on your failures is not only unproductive, but it’s also counterproductive, and it’s just
plain unhealthy. Accept failure and move on.
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” ‒‒ Michael Jordan
2. Learn from it.
Many people aren’t successful because when they fail they get angry, they pout, and then they make the same mistake… or worse, they give up. Don’t let failure make you angry and don’t let failure discourage you.
Find what went wrong the first time around, and just don’t do it again. Let failure be a teaching opportunity.
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” ‒‒ Colin Powell
3. Improve on it.
Once you’ve learned what went wrong the first time around, its time to make improvements. Failing at something not only shows us why we made a mistake, but it gives us an opportunity to improve.
Think about new ways you can do things or ways that you can do things better, because if you can
learn what not to do AND learn better ways to do them, then I promise you
will be happier and more successful.
“Never be afraid to fail. Failure is only a stepping stone to improvement.” ‒‒ Tony Jaa
4. Keep failing.
This may sound counter-intuitive, but we already know that without failure we cannot have success. Now I’m not saying that you should try to fail, no one should ever try and do something wrong.
What I am saying is don’t stop taking chances. Don’t stop taking risks. Keep exploring and trying new
things. If you take a risk and fail, that’s okay. The real failure is not trying at
all.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ‒‒ Winston Churchill
