“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill
We all have goals and dreams, and we constantly strive to succeed in life. An initial idea of what we hope to achieve one day is one of the first steps for materializing visions. But unfortunately, society sells us an ideal image of success, especially in this modern, competitive, and fast-paced world. Every day we are presented with examples of brilliant individuals that inspire us with their personal stories of triumph, and we idealize plans to accomplish the same for ourselves. Yet, we tend to overlook, and even despise failure, one of the most necessary elements to achieve success.
An underrated concept
People can often negatively consider the idea of failure since the feeling of discomfort lies at the basis of defeat and the fear of failing. We become our own harshest critics as we learn to measure our self-image and self-esteem according to our achievements, and when we experience failure, the weight of our mistakes is frequently a heavier burden.
However, in every unique story, an element hides behind the glory of a successful final result, and that element is a repeated failure. If we talked more about the times people tried and failed, we would know that this concept can be easier to accept, and we could become more open to learning from unsuccessful events.
The unavoidable master
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is a delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Denis Waitley.
It does not matter how clear the goal is or how carefully we plan the road to succeed; things will not always go our way. Nevertheless, failure is one of the most fundamental events that we experience in life. We can significantly benefit from failing if we see this as a lesson, not a sentence.
Seeing failure as a teacher is often easier said than done, but changes in outlook and rational assessments of events can help reduce fear. Then, as you go, you can obtain the right insights and have an advantage over the most challenging circumstances if you are ready to fail in front of others.
But, how do we stay motivated when we have failed?