Fail as many times as you need to
The world itself is filled with failure, although thanks to social media and other channels, we are only focused on other’s successes thinking only about the result. We see the success of others and tend to assume they have not failed while reaching that result. No matter the task, we usually face countless setbacks along the way. And even after we have become highly accomplished, we will always have to meet failure in one aspect of our lives or the other.
Most children grow up in a bubble of constant reassurance and praise. They are used to receiving external reasons why they failed to accomplish something. That creates the habit of avoiding responsibility and blaming others for such outcomes. They do not know that it is ok to accept their shortcomings, and if they wish to get better, to work more on the desired skill or task.
Instead of feeling sorry for yourself or finding external reasons why you have failed, simply accepting that the competition was better prepared can positively affect a person. The more we find excuses, the more we will resent the world and our surroundings, which is not helpful. The world is not a fair place, and feeling resentful will not change that fact but will only make your life much harder than it has to be. The ability to withstand hardships and continue working regardless of the circumstances is the mindset we need to raise our children. Our failures build our character much better than our successes. Success usually creates ego-especially if it is achieved quickly with little effort.
The fear of failure prevents us from taking action. If we have not grown up learning that failure is ok, we will be embarrassed to show our shortcomings in front of others. Losing is not a pleasant feeling; we all want to be on the top of the food chain conquering every battle we face; however, we are good at some things and bad at others. If you do not come across failure that often, it is most likely because you might be staying in your comfort zone and not challenging yourself enough.
Everyone’s primary competition should be themselves. When we keep looking outside and comparing our shortcomings with others’ success, we feel less about ourselves. Where we come from; and how much progress we have made; are much more important than being better than someone else. Since we live in a competitive society, we will always have to face competition with others-I am not excluding this fact; however, our only power is over ourselves and our preparation. Once we focus on our journey, we feel little to no responsibility to others regarding our work, which is how it should be. The only person whose opinions we should be interested in is ourselves.
Life is a journey of growth, and growth happens facing new trials. If challenging enough, trying something new will most likely lead to failure in the beginning. Failure will always be there, lurking in the shadows. No matter how skilled, experienced, or accomplished we are, failure will always be a part of our lives. It is best to learn to deal with it and see it as an opportunity to sharpen your craft. Take risks and don’t fear failure, and remember to restart as many times as you need; you don’t need to outpace anyone but your former self.
