Failure Is Not Fatal

I have been thinking about failure and how people respond to set backs lately, and a couple recent conversations reopened the vault in my mind again, so brace yourself!

We all know that mistakes in this life are inevitable, and we are supposed to learn from them and try not to make them again, and when you make one you are supposed to say sorry, and blah, blah, blah...Am I right?!

There has to be more to it than that! It isn't just about trying to avoid the same mistake, it's about allowing the mistakes to change us, to change our behavior, to change our thought processes. It's more than trying again, it's trying again with a renewed desire to be better. Mistakes can be, and often are, preparatory stages in our lives, so we are better able to handle similar scenarios the next time they may present themselves in our lives.

I'm going to share three points about failure I feel are important.

1) Embrace mistakes to a certain extent. Dare to take risks, even if it may not turn out the way you imagined it would. Sitting still, and never doing anything in order to not make any mistakes is a mistake in itself, so I don't recommend taking that route. Getting outside of our comfort zones and allowing ourselves to be necessarily vulnerable will inevitably lead to mistakes of varying size, but in that process, we can learn from those mishaps and let changes occur in our lives. Although taking risks is important, and indeed, essential, we need to make sure we aren't taking risks just to take risks, because that isn't the point. There are times and places to take risks, and times and places not to take risks. This judgement comes after we allow ourselves to grow after we fail. There is a point after failing in which we can develop a better version of the person we are, but we have to choose to work at it; we don't magically become whole after being broken without some healing, or some time. Mistakes are inevitable, but we need to be careful to only take necessary risks.

2) Failing does not make you a failure. Failing means you stepped outside your comfort zone and experimented with something new, and it didn't work that time. There's a chance it could happen next time, so don't give up. If you stick your neck out and take a risk, and it doesn't work out, I applaud you! It's hard to do things that doesn't have guaranteed success, it's scary and leaves you feeling vulnerable. You are not a failure, even if you make mistakes. Success and greatness are built on failure upon failure upon frustration upon occasional catastrophe. Don't give up, don't give in, don't quit. (Unless you are trying to sew something, in which case, it's totally acceptable to quit.) You are remarkable right now, you were remarkable before your last failure, and you will still be remarkable after you fail again. If you fall, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again. And again. And again. Eventually, if you continue to work hard, your time will come. Don't let failing at something convince you that you are a failure.

3)Failure is not final, it is not fatal, and it is not forever. This is pretty self-explanatory, but I am going to suggest that perhaps the "failure" is actually a door of opportunity which may not have otherwise been opened. The very thing we failed at could lead us to greater prospects further down the road.

Henry B. Eyring said, "If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill." It's going to be challenging, it's going to test you, and there will be times you will fail. Don't give up! You can do things you never imagined possible, just don't give up.