Chapter 74 Learning from Failure.
We learn from life each day, constantly becoming wiser. We learn for example, that the best way to get rain is to schedule an outdoor party; and that the chance of a buttered piece of bread falling face-down increases with the price of the new carpet! V. S. Law commented, "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.
It is easy to make mistakes and meet upsets. At worse times we fall into troughs in our career or make blunders that lead to failures. Nonetheless, many champions rise like phoenixes from ashes to reach greatness, they respond to thrashing in a positive and learning way, realising that we learn more from failures than from easy victories. Others cope by blaming fate and the world, they forget that setback is the chance to begin again more intelligently and capably, and that ultimately we are accountable for our lives.
Edison asserted, "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. Malcolm Forbes reiterated, "Failure is success if we learn from it. Failure really teaches success. If we treat the past as a trial- and-error and learning process, then we can sharpen ourselves better to spearhead into the future. It is this process of surmounting setbacks, solving problems and learning from mistakes that gives growth, wisdom and meaning to our lives. Every bad experience bears the fruit of equivalent benefit, usually some blessing in disguise. Can you imagine a person who has never met hardship or defeat? He will be more a cabbage than a calibre! Our response to mistakes influences our wellbeing, both in the near and distant future. If we want circumstances in life to improve, we must improve.
Losing is winning if you learn from it. The first steps towards learning from failure are introspection (look inside yourself), and retrospection (looking back), which you must do regularly, for growth and progress. An effective way is to ask yourself the testing questions: How good have I been? How good am I now? If People were to treat me like I treat them, would I be successful and happy? Have I neglected many things in my human and business life? "Do to others what you would have them do to you. This golden biblical saying holds. You can further scrutinise the causes of your failures among these weaknesses:
1. Poor social skills, human relationship and street-smartness.
2. Complacency, bad habits, weak self-control and discipline.
3. Lack of caution, calculation; inadequate practice and preparation.
4. Mismatch with job, environment, personal talents, abilities, etc.
5. Scattered focus, poor perseverance and will-power.
6. Lacking in various other ingredients of success.
We should not just learn from our mistakes, we must have a habit of learning from them, and from the mistakes of others too!. Draw wisdom from your woes and fruits from failures. Understand the causes and implications and make a brand new start. StanleyArnold noted, "Every problem contains the seeds of its own solution. It is not enough just to live, you must learn. Success is not a gift, it is something you must earn. We are here to learn love and to give, with a purpose to fulfil, a duty to perform. Many if not most, of the successful grew up from foils and frustrations. What really distinguishes the greater people from the lesser is the ability to rebound from defeat. When you stop making mistakes, you stop growing, Keep erring and schooling, learn all you can and you will surely find rewards and fulfilment in this ever-changing, ever-progressing world.
"What determines whether failure stops a person or not is how the failure is held." - Werner Erhard.
"Some of the best lessons we ever learn, we learn from our mistakes and failures. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future." - T. Edwards.
"Theres one thing more painful than learning from experience, and that is not learning from experience." - Barbara Johnson.
"If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not falling down, but staying down." - Mary Pickford.