What is your PERSPECTIVE of failure? How do you see it? Do you see it as final? Do you see it as the death of your success, or do you see it as education?
“Failure can be the last nail in your coffin, or it can be just the education you needed to move to the next level; it’s completely up to you” – David Gadberry.
Failure is a part of developing or growing; most importantly, it’s about trying. I’ve heard it said
“Failure concentrates the mind wonderfully. If you aren’t making mistakes you probably aren’t trying hard enough.” – Jasper Fforde
Failure is not final. It’s merely our education for success. I live by this formula…
Failure + Proper response = opportunity for success
PRIDE makes failing off limits. If you think you will never fail, you are implying you are perfect, which is the height of pride and arrogance, an inappropriate perspective of failure.
If you have an inappropriate perspective of failure, it can cause you to PUSH. Push blame on others, push away from risk, and go and project your insecurities on others.
“When you fail it should push you forward to success if you learn to see it and use it right.”
Learning to use failure properly involves how personal it is. It’s hard not to take that personally when you invest so much of yourself into your endeavors, and they fail. However, there is a big difference between taking failure personally and taking personal responsibility for loss.
Beating yourself or your team up for failing is a massive waste of time. Viewing yourself or your team as a failure is a huge waste of potential. You are not a failure just because something you tried failed.
Taking failure personally breeds insecurity, lack of confidence, doubt, and defeat. However, accepting personal responsibility for loss is a decisive step towards success.
“If you fail, don’t defend it or deny it. Instead, own it. It’s the only way to learn from it.”
When you fail, dissect it. Knowing the anatomy of your failure leads to a healthy team and produces optimal function.
QUESTIONS TO ASK TO LEARN FROM YOUR FAILURE:
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What was the cause?
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What can you derive from your failure?
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What changes can be made to improve before trying again?
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What did you learn about your goal? Is it the right goal? Are you moving in the right direction? Are you being sincere?
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What did your failure teach you about yourself?
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What strategic steps could you take to make this failure a stepping stone to success?
