How Failing is Necessary for Success:
How many times have you failed in your life? If you are anything like me, you have failed many times, made many mistakes, and have felt like you messed up a lot. When I was younger (especially), failure felt like the end of the world. How would I ever come back from that?
Getting a bad grade, saying something stupid to a friend or family member, getting in trouble by my parents… As an adult, the failures are different. Making a mistake at work, getting in a fight with a significant other, struggling to find the right career, burning out at work… These scenarios often feel like, “make it or break it.”
We cannot always choose the circumstances of our lives. Sometimes things just happen, and it can be frustrating when things don’t happen the way we want them to, when we don’t have enough time, or the right job, or the right partner, or any partner. Having to deal with these less than ideal circumstances day in and day out can be draining, leaving us wondering, “when will things get better?”
It is in these moments of failure and discomfort that we can find the opportunity to grow. Change cannot happen without discomfort. People do not break up because they are comfortable with where they are, they don’t get a new job because they enjoy where they work and are financially stable. People make changes because they do not like where they are or because they have a need to change.
Failure can be the catalyst for these needs. The way people respond after failure determines the resiliency they have. Failure happens to everybody, and that’s okay. Once we can accept that it is a part of being human, it becomes easier to acknowledge that it is something we can learn from. Each person can learn how to be resilient and overcome failure.
Failure is not the end; it is the beginning of growth and improvement. Having this perspective alone will pave the path for hope and resiliency.
