Failure has always been a word that extracts a negative vibe. It generally portrays to most of us something disappointing, dissatisfying, or even humiliating. But what if I tell you that failure is not your journey's end; it is your stepping stone to the path of success? What if I tell you that the lessons learned in failure used to serve as a base for your greatest success?
We all agree and believe that failure comes our way and kicks us right in the guts. It might be in the face of a failed business deal, a relationship, or an unreached goal; failure is one of the things that we all experience. But the difference between those who finally succeed and those who give up is probably in how they respond to their failure.
Let's look up to some powerful lessons that failure teaches us, and how we can turn our setbacks into our success.
1. Failure Is a Teacher, not a Punisher
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons that failure teaches us: it is not punitive. It is easy for a person to feel let down by the universe especially when things do not work out for him or her. Remember, failure is that teacher who teaches us about our mistakes and offers us insights and wisdom that success often hides.
When asked how many times he had failed at inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison answered, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison didn't view his failures as defeats; rather, he looked upon them as learning opportunities that took him closer to success. With every failure, he gained knowledge important for him to finally create one of the greatest inventions of all time.
Therefore, with every failure, ask yourself, "What is that one thing that I have learnt from my failure?" View failure as a point of learning so you can identify the lessons learned that can assist you during the success journey.
2. Failure Gives the Power of Resilience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks, forged through fires of failure. If you face failure do not give up, keep developing your mental and emotional strength to prepare yourself for the challenges ahead.
Now, consider the case of the now well-renowned author, J.K. Rowling, for the creation of the Harry Potter series. What most people don't know is that before she became a successful author, Rowling faced rejection from several publishers. She was a poor single mother receiving welfare, and already 12 publishers returned her manuscript. Instead, considering these rejections as her destiny, she continued to work hard until she received an offer. Today, J.K. Rowling is one of the most successful authors in the world.
The journey of Rowling teaches us that resilience is built from persistence in the face of failure. Every rejection that came her way made her more determined about herself, more strong-headed to want to succeed, and finally to be successful with all the hurdles she faced.
3. Failure Brings Innovation
Some of history's biggest innovations have arisen from the ashes of failure. When something doesn't work, it makes us creative, questions our assumptions, and opens up new possibilities. Look at Post-it Notes, for example. In the 1960s, scientist Spencer Silver was working at his company 3M, trying to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he developed a low-tack adhesive that was easily removable and left no residue. It was originally labelled as a failed adhesive, but according to Silver, he had invented something great. This low-tack adhesive has good potential to be used as a bookmarker, as well as a temporary sticky marker.
This story of Post-it shows how failure can drive innovation. So, next time you fail, force yourself to rethink all approaches and experiments you have done so far to come up with ideas that can turn up as a solution to a problem you might have never thought of.
4. Failure Cultivates Humility and Gratitude
Success, sometimes, can make a person proud and feel that they are entitled to everything. Failure, on the other hand, brings gratitude and humility, reminding us that we somehow need to be humbled as we aren't infallible. That humility is a key ingredient to growth and is part and parcel with lasting success.
In other words, defeat gives rise to thankfulness. It is one among the many ways in which we turn to appreciate the success that we happen to achieve. It always makes us realize that we should never take success or achievement for granted and we should always be thankful for the entire path of success and failure.
Let's look at Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players in the world. Jordan had been dropped out from his high school basketball team—something that can break the spirit of any athlete. Instead, this dropout made Jordan hungrier for success. "I've failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed," he said, years later. His failures made him stay down to earth, stay hungry for more work, and finally, savour his victories even better that he truly gets what it is like to hit a wall.
5. Failure Reveals Your True Passion
Sometimes failure is a blessing in disguise, saving us from the wrong path, and directing us to our true path. When we fail, we think twice about whether this was our true dream or passion. If true, we restart again to find the strength to reach success, otherwise, our failure nudges us to explore some different path.
The life of Steve Jobs can be one of the finest examples of how someone can turn failure into success by following his passion. He could have given up after getting fired from Apple, a company that he was co-founder of; instead, he decided to start a company called NeXT and acquired Pixar, both of which went on to become incredibly successful. Eventually, Apple acquired NeXT and Jobs returned to the company and steered it to unprecedented heights.
As Jobs said, "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." Jobs' case proves that failure can even be a stepping stone to help us realize where true passion lies and that when we follow our passion, success can never stay not too far.
6. Failure Is Not the End, But a New Beginning
Perhaps one of the most important lessons that failure teaches us all is that it is not the end of the journey. Rather, it’s simply a detour of your journey towards success. Every setback allows you to restart, backed by the knowledge and experience you have gained from your past attempts. In other words, it’s an invitation to reassess your goals, re-strategize your approach, and continue to move forward.
Walt Disney, the person behind the Disney empire, was fired from a newspaper job early in his career, stating that he "lacked imagination and good ideas." He eventually went to bankruptcy several times before finally hitting success with Mickey Mouse and the creation of Disneyland. Disney's success story proves the fact that failure is not the end; it is just the beginning of something better.
Learn Lessons from Failure
Failure is an inseparable part of life, but it doesn’t define who we are. Instead of fearing failure, we should accept it as a helpful teacher, and a guide. See failure as a stepping stone, rather than a road blocker; you can turn your challenges into opportunity, and eventually lead up to success.
Remember, the road to success is not a straight line, it is winding, looking like a dead end at every turn. However, with every twist and turn, life’s journey becomes worthwhile. Therefore, the next time you encounter failure, don’t feel discouraged, see it as an opportunity and restart with full potential.
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