THE BRIGHT SIDE OF FAILING

When a child is born he or she knows nothing, even though we walk, talk, and do different activities every day, we were born zero, just like a brand new laptop or mobile phone (with just the factory settings-sucking mom’s breast). Everything we do daily we practiced until we learned to do them effortlessly.

Walking is a perfect example, with the exception of children born with medical conditions which might prevent them from walking, small children are really determined to walk, they strive to stand up and walk on two feet just like their older siblings or parents/guardians and in this process, they fall countless times, they trip on invisible and visible things, they may get hurt but nothing stops them from trying again and the results are seen everywhere we go; people walking and running, literally everywhere.

Anyone who is great at something was definitely not that great when they started out. Any great cook has a story where he/she messed up the recipe, all great athletes have failed countless times and all the greats had to overcome failure in order to achieve greatness. As the old adage goes; a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

Although failing might make one feel demotivated, here are some “half glass full” sides of failure.

Failure is a sign that you are trying

While many people are just waiting for the right moment to come so that they can get up and pursue their dreams, your failing shows that you were brave enough to get out of your comfort zone and do something out of the ordinary. Keep it up.

There is always a valuable lesson in failure

You failed because you missed something important, and if you examine closely, you will discover that something and you shall be wiser. It doesn’t matter how many years you have researched and prepared for a task, it’s only through doing that you shall learn meaningful lessons. It is a path you have to walk alone. Experience is the best teacher.

Failure helps one develop a thick skin

Resilience and perseverance are among the main components of success, every person has failed at some point, but the successful person always picks him/herself up, learns their lessons, and tries again. If it doesn’t kill you it only makes you stronger. Failing multiple times shall kill your fear of failing.

Failing helps us realize and respect other people’s achievements

Proficient people make whatever they do seem easy, easy until they try and fail drastically. It is in this failing that we discover that nothing worthwhile comes easy we, therefore, appreciate and respect the time and effort they put in order to perfect their craft. Even the rappers and singers considered terrible really put a lot of effort into their craft.

Failure keeps you humble

Imagine if you could succeed at everything you do on the first attempt, you could be the cockiest person ever, and you would perceive yourself as better than others. The reason pride comes before a fall is because proud people are too arrogant to listen and learn and therefore miss the important details. A proud person only experiences success for a short while before they come tumbling down. All the great leaders in whatever fields are always reading books to learn from others’ mistakes and they know that there is always room for improvement, even if they are at the top.

Failure shapes your character

We are all born the same; naked, weak and not knowing anything at all but how come other people go ahead to be stronger, wealthier, wiser, etc.? Yeah, there are many other factors that come in between but there is always a successful person in every other business, region, ethnicity, or sport, right? This is because these persons did not let their situation determine their success, and it is always more challenging to succeed in a field you are not familiar with hence it is the failures that you encounter that give you that edge and distinctive character.

Failure brings innovation

Today we consider many things normal and use them every other day like nothing, but we have no idea how much was sacrificed for us to do the things we do today. Take transport as an example. Countless people lost their lives in the past as a result of “poorly” built ships, trains, road vehicles, and planes, it is through these failures that humans had to come up with better methods of building things and hence all the wonderful technology we see and use today. Even though every now and then there is always another epic human fail that gets everyone by surprise, we usually learn to do things differently and more carefully.

insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results-

Albert Einstein.

Whether you like it or not you must fail a number of times if you are seriously trying to bring change, and it is entirely up to you to decide if you are going to stay down or get up and try again and again…and again. As you go about with your day remember that great people are not born great, it is what they encounter that molds them, the losses and failures especially.

A SMOOTH SEA NEVER MADE A SKILLED SAILOR.