Failure

Failure is a part of life. Everyone fails. I fail most days. I failed today on my 8-mile run. That failure prompted me to write about this topic today. I do not run from failure. I embrace it. Failure to me means there is learning to be done. Failure is direct feedback of what went wrong, of what needs to change, of what I need to do differently next time. Failure to me is a reminder of what can happen if I stay the same. Failure is only a bad thing if you do not learn from what transpired.

I believe failure is not something to be feared. Failure means I am trying to grow. Failure to me is realizing I need to reevaluate what went wrong and what caused me to fail. There is no growth if I constantly hit my goals with no worries of failing. At the same time, failing in the same way should not be a constant. I need to learn from the failure to be better the next time. If I fail again but prepared differently, the same learning needs to take place in order to try again. Failing one, two, or even three times are merely bumps in the road for the inevitable success from consistent efforts to improve. Eventually, through my trials, I will grow to succeed.

There is a difference between failing and quitting. Failing means you are trying but just did not succeed. Quitting means you are giving up. I believe perspective here is very important. Stopping a task to switch your energy and focus to something else is not quitting. Quitting is when you commit to a task, realize it isn’t for you, and then do nothing with your time. Failing means you realize the task is not for you, then find a new pursuit to engage with. Quitting will get you nowhere, failure will help you succeed.

I believe there is a big stigma around failure and what it means. We grow up in schooling systems where we are graded by our performance, no one wants to fail because there are consequences. This causes everyone to find shortcuts to ensure “failure” does not occur, only perpetuating this fear of failure. Flipping the switch and using failure as direct feedback and a means to get better is the best way to improve. Embrace failure and realize your potential.