Since we were children, an “F” was terrible in school, and ever since, the word “failure” has had a bad connotation. However, failure is a necessary part of success. You can’t reach success without failure. Winston Churchill once said this. Failure isn’t always fatal. These four tips for re-framing the concept of failure may inspire you to fail more often in life.
FAIL is LEARN
This acronym captures the essence of what it means to fail. More specifically, failing indicates that you tried something, perhaps for the first time, and even if you didn’t get the result you were hoping for, you did pick up a skill or lesson along the way.
Failing is not Failure.
If you don’t finish what you set out to do, that doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It’s easy to think that if we fail at something, it’s because we don’t have enough character or because we’re not good enough. In the same way that we are not our thoughts or feelings, we are not our failures (or successes, since “success is not final,” as the quote says). Failing at something is just one thing that happens in our lives. How we react to failure (like getting back up) says more about who we are as people than the failure itself.
Failure is inevitable; you are not alone and you have nothing to fear.
There isn’t a single person in the world or in my life who hasn’t failed. Twelve publishing houses turned down J.K. Rowling’s manuscript before one decided to release Harry Potter. Consider the possibility that Harry Potter might not be the well-known brand it is today if she had given up after receiving her first, second, or third rejections.
Before she became well-known on daytime television, Oprah Winfrey had been fired from her job as an evening news reporter. Because the list is never-ending, everyone is susceptible to failure.
These individuals who have failed all have one thing in common: they got back up and continued on despite their setbacks. May it provide you comfort to know that you’re not alone when you fail, and may it make you less hesitant to try again.
Failure indicates that you are willingly stepping outside of your comfort zone
It’s likely that you are not taking risks in your life if you are not failing. You’re probably taking it easy, and if that’s what you prefer, there’s nothing wrong with it. However, failing (or being willing to fail) indicates that you’re willing to step outside of your comfort zone and explore what lies beyond.
