I’ve been pondering the topic of failure lately. There’s an idea out there that when something you do fails, you are a failure.
YOU are not a failure. You are something special. When something you do fails, it does not change who you are.
Let’s talk about failure. I know a lot about failure.
Photo by Josh Marshall on Unsplash
When Pamela and I first married, we bought a house. I lost my job a month or two after we purchased our first home. It’s the home we still live in but we had the full mortgage to take care of while Pamela worked long hours and I tried to find work.
I felt like a failure as a husband.
This didn’t make me a failure. I only felt that way.
Or what about the time I tried to open up my own computer repair business? I worked hard trying to find clients. I picked up one or two here and there. However, I never was able to get the business fully funded and running.
I felt like a failure as a business owner.
While the business never took off, I wasn’t a failure. The business failed. I failed to find clients. But I wasn’t a failure. I only felt that way.
What happened from the failures? I learned I wasn’t a failure. I also learned valuable lessons along the way.
You Are Not A Failure
When you fail, you are not a failure. Maybe the methods you used failed. Maybe you chose the wrong idea to purpose. Maybe the business was already on rocky ground.
None of this makes you the failure.
To make sure you never become the failure, think about these things the next time a project fails:
1. What can I do better next time?
There will always be something we can do better. We are never going to be perfect. There’s always room for improvement.
The next time something fails, look back on the experience as a growth experience. You will be surprised at what you can learn from the experience.
2. Look at your strengths:
How did you utilize your strengths in the project? My guess is the answer is: I didn’t use my strengths. I tried to work on my weaknesses.
This is what happens a majority of the time we feel like a failure. We didn’t use our strengths. We focused on our weaknesses.
You are not a failure because you failed to use your strengths. You made a bad judgment call that you now know to correct.
3. Find a way to recover:
This is the spot where it will be determined if the failure is fatal. You have a choice at this junction. You can choose to wallow in self-pity and remorse. You can continue to tell yourself how worthless you are. Or how you never succeed.
This will ensure you don’t move forward.
However, when you choose to find a way to recover, you will never be a failure.
Look for what you can do moving forward. Find a way to bounce back. Don’t let this incident be the end of you.
You are not a failure as long as you continue to pick yourself back up. You are not a failure as long as you continue to learn from the experience. Keep going friends.
YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. I BELEIVE IN YOU.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.