It's Okay to Fail
Failures come in different shapes and sizes. Some come from the consequences of our actions while others seem to just be pure bad luck. Regardless of the reasons, we all fail at some point and that’s perfectly okay. We learn from them, fix mistakes, move on, grow wiser. We are better for having experienced failure.
Embrace Failure
In my life, I have failed so many times. I had failures at work, relationships, businesses, and even in my career! But these failures have not held me back in any way.
Failure is sometimes the best thing that can happen to you. Even when something big fails, you know it will be better next time. Your business, career or life would have never taken off the way it did without that night of reflection. Many of us are afraid of failure. We get mad at ourselves for failing and don’t want to try again. If we accept failure as part of life, we will not be afraid to try again or succeed.
A Little Failure to Keep Us Moving Forward
We all have to fail to burnish our resilience, develop perseverance, and learn humility. Failure pushes us to take creative risks, experiment with different approaches, try new things, and venture into the unknown. It teaches us who we are as individuals and what’s realistic to expect from ourselves. Maybe you’re afraid of failure? That’s okay too! Everyone is at some point. But don’t let this fear stop you from trying something new or taking a creative risk. It’s unlikely you will take the same path every time anyway.
Sometimes we need a nudge to remind us that we’re not perfect. it’s necessary to accept the fact that you’re human and sometimes things will slip through the cracks. No matter how well planned your strategy, mistakes are inevitable, it is okay to fail when these things happen. You didn’t lose anything by taking that opportunity. Failure is a necessary part of growth, and it teaches us what we need to know.
Perfection Can Be a Trap
Have you ever felt like you need to be perfect in some area of your life? If so, you’re likely suffering from some form of perfectionism and not even realize it! We strive for perfection in ourselves and our work. However, it’s easy to become obsessed with perfection and less willing to accept errors or progress sideways.
Perfectionism can be a trap. It can let you down when things aren’t going as smoothly as you hoped. Perfectionism can also make you feel overwhelmed and disappointed when you don’t reach your goals.
We set unrealistic standards for ourselves and let our fears stop us from trying new things. This is especially true when it comes to building something, such as a business or an idea, that has some risk. Perfection can be detrimental in these situations since it limits your growth. Instead, embrace the journey of learning and growth that comes with failures and learn from them. Learn from your mistakes so you can move on to bigger and better things.
The Risk of Not Trying
Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to accomplish something, but were afraid to tackle the idea? I call these “ the dead zone”, where you aren’t interested in taking action because of the fear of the unknown, but are afraid to admit it. This can be limiting and keep you from reaching your goals.
Fear can be paralyzing. We are afraid to try new things because of fear. There is no need for fear, daily small steps can help us avoid fear. It is better to take one small step and keep moving forward than to do nothing at all. It’s a fear of failure that prevents you from trying new things. Sometimes it’s best just to accept failure gracefully because it’s just another step in your growth as a person.
Failure Is Where Success Comes from
Everyone thinks of failure as a negative thing. But it’s not. It’s the foundation on which success is built. Winners are all different, but failure is their thing in common. Take failure as an opportunity. It’s the only way you will ever experience success because there are no other opportunities for it to happen without first experiencing failure.
Failure is where success comes from. In every pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, there are failures and successes. Success or failure in your next attempt depends on how you respond. No matter what we do, whether building a new business or working at a job you hate, the key is accepting failure and improving your ability to handle it. There is no reason to be afraid of failure. It is how we learn, grow, and become better at what we do. Fear of failure often arises from not knowing how to deal with it or from thinking we should do something different. However, most failures are just stepping stones on the road to success.
Ways to Bounce Back After a Failure
Failures show us that we have more work to do. They help us see new possibilities for ourselves and realize that we’re capable of more. They show us that a goal isn’t impossible. They show us that something could be done differently. They remind us that it’s never too late to make changes to improve our lives. I would go so far as to say that, without failure we would struggle to learn and move forward, making us a better person. It forces you to examine your beliefs and evaluate how you’ve reacted to the events in your life. In the face of failure, you realize not every idea is worth pursuing, and some decisions will have to be made for you. It can also be a time when you need to remember to appreciate what you have and what isn’t worth having.
When initially confronting our own failure, most of us find it difficult to step back from our immediate emotional responses. However, to gain insight from an experience, you first need to clear your head of all the distorting emotions that come with failure. You need a cool head. This can be easier said than done; you might be frustrated, and you may be feeling emotions of anger, fear, or stress. Try adding emotional distance before investigating what went wrong. If you don’t, your unconscious bias will get in the way of a clear understanding of the situation. Now that your emotions are in check, try looking at the situation from a different perspective. Come at the problem from a point of view that’s not your own, this will help to compartmentalize the process of failure.
When trying to learn from your mistakes, your goal should always be to focus on the “why”. The goal is to get to the root cause of the mistake, and then uncover all the contributing factors. Without knowing the why, you will have no way of preventing the same failure from occurring again. By evaluating all the steps leading up to an error, you will be able to better recognize and rectify an issue before it goes south in the future.
Instead of just getting something done “to get it done”, when you know you are on the path to failure, ask for help! Continuing on when you know something isn’t working only increases your stress and frustration. If you are climbing back from failure, asking someone for advice can goes along way to helping you come to terms and move forward. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.
While it won’t feel like it in the moment, or even during the fall out afterwards, it will all eventually be ok. The failure has already occurred and there is no way you can go back and change that. What you can control is how you react and how you choose to move forward from this experience. Don’t let one failure cause you to fail at trying again. Be grateful for this experience, no matter how hard it is. Seeing failure as an opportunity for learning is a small step in the right direction to building yourself back up and changing your attitude to the situation.
Of course, you should always be aiming for success whenever you set out to accomplish a task or goal. But is it realistic to expect ourselves to succeed every time we take on something new? Of course not. And so, the important part is not to let that failure set you back. When you do fail, take the opportunity to learn so you can grow. Learning gives you fresh perspective and insight that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
