Some people view failure as the enemy but it isn't, failure shouldn't be the reason why you stop trying. Most people are scared of failing so they do not attempt to try anything. A man who has never failed in life has never learnt anything.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well have not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default” – J.K. Rowling.
Do you remember when you were trying to walk as a baby?
Of course not, you were too little but pretend you remembered. Initially, you started by standing then you took the first step but you fell down. My mum used to tell me that anytime I tried taking a step and I fell, I would start crying.
(Why would baby Livingstone cry because he failed when he attempted to walk? He was so naïve).
Back to our story, so you took another step and you fell again. You didn't cry like me and you didn't give up but you kept on trying and today you are jumping like a frog and running like a rabbit. Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.
Do not give up because you failed in an attempt to achieve your goals in life. Rather learn from your failures and give it another shot. Failing doesn't make you a failure. Failure gives you an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. I remember when I was learning how to ride a bicycle; it was not a nice experience. I fell close to a million times (of course I was counting) and I almost gave up. But anytime I see my friends riding their own bicycle, I would run to get mine and try again and I kept on trying till I was able to ride my bicycle without assistance or falling.
Use this in your day to day activity, you failed a course in school does not mean that you are dull. Know why you failed that course and use that as an advantage. Go back and retake the course and this time around, score higher. Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.
Most top business men have invested in certain business that they lost money but they did not quit business, rather they learnt from their mistakes and tried again. Today you see them as millionaires. I am not saying you must fail before you succeed, what I am trying to let you know is not to be scared of failing.
Have you not heard that Thomas Edison tried so many times in his attempt to create the electric bulb and failed? But he never gave up and at the end he did it. He said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” Why then should you be the first to quit because you failed an interview test? Defect is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. Will you let your fears stop you from achieving your dreams?
Failure is another stepping stone to greatness. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes but when you repeat the same mistakes, then there is a problem. In the game of chess, every move is important. You only improve your skills by losing. Imagine you were taught the game of chess and after learning the game, you won everyone in your class. You kept on using the same move you learnt and you were wining everyone. You will not improve, you will believe that you are the Queen and no one can defeat you but unknown to you; you are just on one spot. What if you then decided to play with someone from another school and you lost to him. Yes, you would naturally feel bad, but you will study his move and know where you missed it and play again. As you lose, you learn and that's how you become better. Failure is a privilege to learn and not to quit. Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.
Failure should be seen as an advantage and not a disadvantage. Johnny Cash said, “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”
Whenever you fall down, if you are facing up then you can get up. Dust yourself and get up. Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
I am not saying it's OK to relax and accept failure with open hands. I want you to channel your energy from your failures to achieve something greater. Let your failures motivate you, let in strengthen you instead of bringing you down.
Skylar Grey wrote, “Your personal life, your professional life and your creative life are all in intertwined. I have gone through a few very difficult years where I felt like a failure. But it was actually really important for me to go through that. Struggle for me is the most inspirational thing in the world at the end of the day –as long you treat it that way”.
Do you want to learn anything before you die? Then double your enthusiasm to succeed and do not be held down by your failures. Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. My greatest concern is not your failure but your contentment with failure.