How Failure Is A Natural Part of Success
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”- Winston Churchill
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”- Henry Ford
Most of the people whom we consider great successes have failed miserably! Failure is part of the process for creating success regardless of which endeavor you choose.
Failure is just feedback that’s telling you that you need to readjust and continue forward. Anything worth doing takes effort, hard work, and perseverance.
Most people fear failure. Have you heard of the saying, “the fear of failure?” That’s right. This fear is paralyzing. It keeps people from challenging themselves, from trying new things, and from getting out of their comfort zone. The result is that often people don’t ever reach their true potential, and that is unfortunate.
What’s the main difference between people who achieve and people who are average?. . . Is it family background, wealth, opportunity, high morals, or the absence of hardship? The answer: none of the above.
According to John Maxwell, Failing Forward, “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. Nothing else has the same kind of impact on people’s ability to achieve and to accomplish whatever their minds and hearts desire.”
John Maxwell recommends that you redefine failure not as something negative, but something positive. Embrace it as part of the process toward success. And most of all, TAKE ACTION to reduce your fear of failing.
Learn from your failures and mistakes. 8 questions to ask yourself if you have experienced failure:
- What Caused the Failure: the Situation, Someone Else, or Self? Try to identify the cause of the problem.
- Was What Happened Truly a Failure, or Did I Just Fall Short? Was it really a failure or were you trying to achieve an unrealistic goal?
- What Successes Are Contained in the Failure? Was there any evidence of “good” that came out of this failure?
- What Can I Learn From What Happened? Try to learn anything you can about what you could do differently.
- Am I Grateful For The Experience? Be grateful that this experience has made you a better, stronger person, and that it has taught you a valuable lesson.
- How Can I Turn This Into a Success? How can you use this experience of failure and turn it into your benefit? In other words, “How do I turn the lemons into lemonade?” “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stones to success.”- Dale Carnegie
- Who Can Help Me With This Issue? Seek advice from someone who has already succeeded with this issue. Get the wisdom of others.
- Where Do I Go From Here? What is the next step? How do I take action on what I have learned?
If I have failed am I a failure?
No, you are NOT a failure! In fact, most people who now have extraordinary success stories, are people who have failed many times. So don’t let it depress you! Everyone fails at something sooner or later! Just pick yourself up, figure out why you failed, and keep going!
However, you need to be careful not to make a habit of failure. People who make a habit of failing often do become “failures” because they don’t learn from their mistakes. They keep making the same mistakes over and over again. They don’t make adjustments to correct the situation.
Failure is a Mind-Set. “Your attitude toward failure determines your altitude after failure.”- John Maxwell Accept failures as stepping stones to success. It’s a part of the process. It a part of life!
Perhaps the most important lesson about mind-set is what you do after you have fallen flat on your face! Do you get back up? What do you do after you get back up?
Persistence and Perseverance are essential ingredients for success. Are you willing to get up when you are knocked down? When you get up are you going to make some adjustments, some pivots, so you don’t get knocked down again?
“A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.”- B.F. Skinner“
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”- Confucius
So, get out there and keep failing toward success. Take action and never quit until you succeed!
“FAILURE: It can destroy you or it can make you so freaking mad that you work even harder to become the winner you know you are.”- pfitblog.com
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”- Michael Jordan
Reference: Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell, 2000
To your success,
David Figueroa-Success Coach
*This post may include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, I may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. I assure you that if I recommend something, it is because I believe it will be of great benefit for your personal development and success. I need wine! Thanks!
FREE BONUS– I invite you to check out my FREE definitive guide to success called “The Success System That Never Fails.”
21 Module Training Program Helps You Get Clear, Get Motivated, & Get Started on Achieving Greater Success and Happiness
