Before you stop reading this post, please take a moment to ponder the implications of Failure! Failure is definitely a subject that many of us desire to ignore or avoid. Parents work to keep their children from experiencing failure. Sports teams work to avoid failure every time they take the court or field. Businesses work to keep failing attitudes from infiltrating their ranks. Let’s face it, Failure is one scary word in our society.
With this in mind, you might wonder what makes Failure one of the things from which I derive inspiration. If you do wonder, please allow me to share some thoughts about failure. Failure can actually:
- Remind us of our fallibility
- Provide grounding perspective
- Tell us where our plans need more work
- Invite closer scrutiny of our goals
- Teach us lessons in humility
- Infuse us with motivation for improvement
- Reveal legitimate limitations
- Encourage compassion and empathy
You see, when we examine Failure under these lenses, its value increases exponentially.
Failure is far from fun! Failure often hurts! Failure creates discordant feelings! Failure can damage reputations! However . . . Failure is fundamentally necessary!
The key to dealing with Failure lies in our ability to embrace it for what it is – a simple fact of human existence. When we are able to embrace Failure as such, we free ourselves to explore all of the opportunities associated with Failure listed above. In fact, embracing Failure as a part of life opens doors for even more self-discovery! No discovery worth sharing has ever been uncovered without some Failure as apart of the mix!
Albert Einstein once said, “Failure is success in progress.” He got it! He understood the inherent creative power found in Failure! His familiarity with Failure empowered him to redefine success.
How about you? Would you be willing to shift your perspective of Failure? I’m guessing that if you do, the benefits will far exceed the downsides.
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
