Is Failure It?

December 12, 2012 by Eric Smith Leadershifting 4 Comments

Most people are scared to fail. They view failure in one area as failure in every area. Sometimes they view failure as failing in life itself,  but I see failure as the opportunity to prevail at something. Have you ever looked at your failures in life as stepping-stones that will help you to prevail at your next task? When things don’t work out, you are given the opportunity to prevail the next time. Sometimes you need problems too hard for you where you don’t succeed the first time. Sometimes you need challenges to build your muscle for success. If you succeed at everything you do, you will not have to try harder. If there are no obstacles for you to overcome, you will take it for granted and think that you are above problems. You cannot be successful with less effort. I know that putting forth little effort is what is preferred by some, but success comes with a price.  Having failures to occur will keep you on your toes if you manage it well. The next time things don’t work out quite the way you planned, don’t see yourself as a failure, just see yourself as a consultant of what doesn’t work.

There are those who look at failure as final and fatal. They see any set back in their agenda or plan as the end of it all. They see failure as an end and not as an opportunity so they give up trying, they give up pursing and they give up dreaming. Failure is not failure unless you let it get down on the inside of you. When you start believing the bad press about you, then you have given up on trying again.  You cannot take the lumps and bumps out of life, but you can use those bumps to elevate your point of view and vantage point. You have got to keep trying, keep believing in yourself and believing that there is another chapter that awaits you in your book of life. You may be delayed but you are not denied. Don’t fail by just quitting.  If you are going to fail, it is better to fail trying. Failure is not the same thing as failing to try. If you fail to even try, you have taken on the spirit or attitude of a failure. To fail means that you tried something and it did not turn out favorably for you. To fail means that the outcome was not what you had hoped it to be. But  it does not mean just give up and don’t try again. Sometimes the lesson is in the journey. When you fail at something you are not a failure, it is just the circumstances did not cooperate with your desired outcome.

You are a failure if you quit. You’ve heard it said “quitters never win”.  We have all heard it said “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”.  Those statements are not just cliche`, they have great meaning. But I want to take that a little further. If you don’t succeed the first time, write it down and put it in a book.  Make your failure go to work for you! Your failure at what you attempted is what is needed to show what didn’t work. This will give insight into other possibilities so the next time you go at it, you do not repeat the same mistake. Use your failure as a blueprint instead of a pink slip. Learning is supposed to be hard work. Growing is supposed to be hard work. Starting a business is supposed to be hard work. Getting a promotion is supposed to be hard work. If it comes easy it ain’t worth keeping.

Don’t let your past mistakes, past failures, past disappointments hold you hostage and keep you from going forward. You have to tell yourself that “there is going to be some glory after this”. There is going to be a victory after your failure, success after your defeat and a testimony after your test. Don’t let failure cement you in place – keep moving, keep going and keep trying. Your next chapter in life has not been written yet. If where you are seems like a period at the end of a sentence, put a hook on it and turn it into a comma and keep reading. We don’t know the end of your story until you tell us it is “The End” so keep on writing, keep on producing, keep on persevering, keep on growing and tell everyone around you “It Ain’t over until I Win”!

Eric Smith