The Lost Art of Failure
Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by Julius.
How many mistakes have you made today? Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. And every person reacts differently to these mistakes.
The issue is not about failure itself, but about the way you react to it. Some people tend to get angry because they think they can’t get it right since they have failed once again.
On the other hand there are people who are grateful for making mistakes. Being grateful for failing is such an important practice. Why should being grateful for failing be a powerful routine?
You are about to find out!
Failure can accomplish many things such as getting depressed or even creating a successful business. Is that true? You bet it is.
Learning through Failure
Failure is not as bad as people think it is. Without it we would probably be still in the stone age hammering on a dead animal trying to crack it open. The reason behind this is that the only way humans learn is through failure.
You don’t learn how to shoot a ball at the goal by getting it right each time. No you learn it by completely missing the goal. And the more you miss it, the better you will become.
Your Inner Clock
Think of it this way. Your brain is like a little clock that needs to be adjusted to get the time right. If you always do it right, your internal clock will never get adjusted, i.e. you will never actually learn.
That of course doesn’t mean that I want you to go out and do everything wrong you could possibly do, no. You should be happy when everything is working the way it should since these are part of the good times of your life.
But the true meaning behind it is to not let you get bogged down through a mistake you’ve made. Why should a simple mistake be able to change your mood completely? You don’t understand it and me neither.
Thinking Differently about Failure
In order to become more successful in life and achieve the things you want, you need a new way of thinking about failure. Try to think of a mistake as a gift. It sets you on the right track. Before you might have been wrong but this mistake adjusted your internal clock. It simply made it a bit more precise.
Then the question is obvious for you. Why would you be mad at something that actually helps you to get further in life?! I actually don’t know but many people are.
Try practicing being grateful for mistakes, it will definitely change your attitude about life. Of course you can feel bad about a mistake, but always try to look at the positive side of it.
What do you think? Have you always thought of failure this way?
Related posts:10 Responses to “The Lost Art of Failure”
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About And Break!
Hi, I'm Julius. I first started blogging over two years ago and it's been a rough ride, yet I made it. On And Break I hope to provide you with information that will make your ride more smooth.
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Ralph
05. Feb, 2010
This is an incredible truth. We are taught that failure is bad and that is so wrong. Failure is the mother of success. Failure is how we learn to do anything.
jules
06. Feb, 2010
@Ralph – Once you are aware of it, it becomes a lot easier to handle failure. There is truly nothing wrong with failing. Its human. And it should be treated that way.
Steven Handel
06. Feb, 2010
When we challenge ourselves, fail, learn, and then persist forward – we have found the path of our success.
Great post Jules!
jules
07. Feb, 2010
This is a very important step that man people fail to realize but they do. Let’s face it, life isn’t always easy but if you know how to react right when you fail, then you will get a long way.
Melvin
07. Feb, 2010
For me, my pride alone drives me to work harder and correct all my failures.. Its that I always think I can change that failure and succeed sooner than later..
I think its just about findinh that inner motivation that will handle failure
jules
07. Feb, 2010
@Melvin – Yeah that’s definitely true. You have adopted the same kind of thinking that I was writing about in the post.
Jonathan Figaro
15. Feb, 2010
The key to success is ” double your failure rate” the more we fail the more were prone to succeed. Its all about the action steps we take. Nice post!
jules
16. Feb, 2010
I totally agree with you. Failure is a very important practice, there is nothing quite like it. The more we fail the more we will succeed. Thanks!
Eric
06. Mar, 2010
I love this post, truly I do.
This has really made me think and I especially love this line: “Try to think of a mistake as a gift. It sets you on the right track. Before you might have been wrong but this mistake adjusted your internal clock. It simply made it a bit more precise.”
I love this because it’s saying that if you look at making a mistake as a gift to allow you to learn what NOT to do, you’re better of in the future knowing what TO do. This is wonderful and this post is awesome, man.
I’m a pessimist at heart and have learned a small bit about being an optimist and I admit, sometimes it’s good to be a pessimist as it allows you to learn what you DON’T want to feel.
Learning is a wonderful tool and without making mistakes, we’re all doomed.
What do you think?
jules
07. Mar, 2010
Thanks for the comment Eric. I love your comment. You are right sometimes being a pessimist is good but mostly because it’s easier. Being an optimist, as I believe, is harder.
Without making mistakes we wouldn’t get anywhere as you’ve said. Everyone makes mistakes but ultimately it’s the ability to get up again that makes some people more successful than others.
I am going to check your blog out now