Failure is a good thing.
You heard me right. Failure is not the enemy. In fact, it can be one of your best tools.
If you aren’t failing, then you aren’t really living and growing.
So many of us fear failure and go out of our way to avoid it, when in reality, failure is simply a lesson, an opportunity to learn.
Have you ever watched a child learning how to walk? How many times do they fall down? Over and over again, they fail at it, learning about balance and coordination with each tumble, until eventually they succeed.
The Perfect Opportunity
I had an interview for an amazing job a few years ago. This was a dream opportunity in so many ways. I did all the right things to get that interview.
- I networked
- I studied
- I practiced answering questions
Everything went great!
Right up until the final interview. It was down to me and one other person, and I completely blew it. I was way up in my head about how much I wanted this job. No, I needed this job. And as a result, I was anxious and timid, and it was no surprise at all that they went with the other candidate.
When I got the call, I had two choices. I could give up, tell myself that I’m not cut out for anything better, and just accept my situation. Or I could take a hard look at what happened, at what I did (or didn’t do), and figure out how to do better next time.
My wakeup call
That disastrous interview was the kick in the butt that I needed to start learning how to stop being at the mercy of my fears and doubts and take control of my journey. So I started acquiring the knowledge and forging the habits that ultimately got me to where I am today. I learned how to focus on my goals, conquer overwhelm, and silence the voice of self doubt. I’m by no means perfect at it, and I still struggle with things, but the point is that I’m better now than I was then because I got knocked on my proverbial rear end.
- Take chances
- Try new things
- Fall down
- Get back up
- Learn
- Do better next time
Because that’s how you grow
Is there something you’ve been wanting to do, a chance you’ve been wanting to take? Tell me about it in the comments!
(Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay)