The Importance of Failure

Most of us we cringe and try to hide our failures, keeping them to ourselves. We think it is something to be embarrassed about or something to put out of our minds. We want to forget that failing experience and get on with other things where we will be more successful. Overall we are taught that failure is bad and something to be avoided. But I would like to challenge that.

Failure is something to be celebrated, not for the act itself but for the information it gives you. It is something to be encouraged and something definitely to be talked about and examined closely. Failure means action and although it means that you were not successful in the actions you pursued, it gives you information for the next time, for those future efforts. Failure is the first step toward success and so it is an important part of the process.  If we take our failure and examine it closely, see where we went wrong, or what we might need to do things again with a different outcome, we are learning from our experience. And learning from the past means we can change the outcome in the future. It might not happen immediately; in fact it might take several tries, but stick with it. Find someone you trust to help you examine these experiences.

None of us would we walking around if we had not taken many tumbles, failures, when we were learning to walk. We might never ride a bike or learn to swim or skate or even read if we had not failed a few times, falling or sinking or mispronouncing and misunderstanding. But sticking with it, learning from the failures, gave us new and important skills.

It is the same with school. Not everyone had good experiences in our school systems, or perhaps had the opportunities for formalized education. Some of us may have failed at school or are just afraid of failing. But trial and error is how we learn. Find the right school or program for you, challenge yourself and don’t be afraid of failure.  Give yourself the time and opportunity to be successful, by giving yourself permission to fail.

My father in law always said that nothing was worse than a game with no runs no hits no errors. Don’t be afraid of the errors, learn from them.

Resources:

http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/overcoming-the-fear-of-failure Help getting started

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/how-fear-of-failure-destroys-success.html Strategies