Do you believe that success is the opposite of failure? That’s exactly what most of us have been conditioned to think. If someone makes an all out effort to achieve some goal but doesn’t quite make it, what have they done?
Have they failed?
Well, that all depends on their concept (and yours) of success and failure. For some, the result alone is what determines if we belong in the winners circle or not. If life were a single, all or nothing event, perhaps we could afford to be that narrow minded. But that is not the way life works.
Life has a learning curve.
Have you ever accomplished anything worthwhile that only required one attempt to get it right? Have you ever seen a baby go from crawling to walking without ever falling down in the process? Falling down is part of learning to walk because there’s a learning curve.
“You got to learn how to fall, before you learn to fly” -Paul Simon
This means that most successes will be preceded by a series attempts that didn’t quite produce the results we were hoping for. With that in mind, it seems like the course of wisdom is to develop a healthy respect for whole learning process, not just the final result.
Learning is succeeding.
Anytime we learn from our efforts we are in the process of succeeding. Each lesson brings us closer to our intended result. Calling the learning process “failing” is not only inaccurate, it’s also emotionally discouraging.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” -Thomas Edison
If we allow ourselves to become discouraged during the process we may give up right before we reach our goal. How sad it would be to go through the learning curve and then never experience the benefits of our new knowledge.
People who understood the process.
This short video is about famous success stories who stayed the course and never gave up. We can gain courage and determination from their examples.
How do you feel about failure now?
The lines are open!
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I have always tried to challenge myself and if I failed I never looked at that way. A challenge to me is something outside my comfort zone and I test myself to see if I can adapt. If I can, great, if not, than I try to learn something from the experience.
Frank J´s last blog ..Firefox 3.5 Under The Hood
Twitter: techjaws
Hey Frank, I prefer not to even use the word failure. Like you, I deal in the realm of challenges which always have an upside. Failure is a harsh term but many people think in those terms. Hopefully they can adjust their perception a bit.
Twitter: mrjWells
Excellent Jonathan! The video really brings it home. I love it!
Your learning to walk example is instructive. A child’s brain has to learn a million things NOT to do in order to walk. The same thing applies to all of life. Learning what not to do is as important if not more important than learning what to do.
Another important point is that when you give something your best shot and you fail you still gain self-respect. That is there regardless of the result.
Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..Simple Genius
Hey Stephen, I like the point on self-respect. Thanks for mentioning the importance of learning what not to do. That’s a big part of the learning curve.
Twitter: mrjWells
I hope I have moved from my failure phase .This video can help anyone
Ty for this post .Always positive reading Jonathan!
Hi Pam, what a cool concept. To succeed in moving away from failure. You might want to bookmark this page and watch the video whenever you need a reminder.
Twitter: mrjWells
Hi Jonathan,
Life is a never ending learning process. You can never learn enough.
People do have the misconception of the ” f ” word. It is a nasty word that makes us feel incompetent until we have the realization, it wasn’t how it was meant to be. Failure is a natural part of life, it happens for a reason.
As children, an F on a test or report card was horribly embarrassing and it was like the whole world crashed around you. That has to change.
Things fall apart so other things come together. It is up to the individual to turn something negative into something positive.
Love the topic-
Bunnygotblog´s last blog ..17 Sexy Commercials: Advertising Towards Dummies
Hi Bunny, just imagine if we eliminated the whole concept of failure. Instead of the negative slant we could just call it learning. No more “F” word, no more result oriented damaged self-worth perception.
Twitter: mrjWells
I have never felt a great sense of accomplishment from something that was easy. I like the mental switch from failing to learning, it’s positive thinking in the right direction. This emphasis helps to focus on what it will take to be successful, instead of the consequence of failure.
Mark Lewis´s last blog ..Happy Independence Day
Hey Mark, good to see you. Win, lose, or draw, I think it’s all about learning. I would rather have a valuable lesson than an empty success (most days anyway).
Twitter: mrjWells
I use the Abraham Lincoln failure example all the time when I am trying to convince people to continue pursuing success.
Ralph ´s last blog ..Top 7 Fear Factors that Prevent People from Starting a New Business. (Guest Post)
Hey Ralph, welcome and thanks for joining the conversation. It’s always encouraging to see examples of people who succeeded because they never gave up on their dream.
Twitter: mrjWells
Great movie at the end, thanks for sharing, Jonathan.
You’re so right about our own definitions of success and failure. Sometimes, failure is just a step from a bigger journey, sometimes it’s just failure. We can make the difference only if we have a larger perspective on life, only if we see beyond our immediate needs and goals.
Seeing things in black or white is a mindset of fear and it ultimately lead to defeat in every area. Allowing nuances and bigger pictures can only enhance our learning capabilities.
I’ll keep that in mind: success is learning
Dragos Roua´s last blog ..System Overload
I actually do believe in the concept of success and failure, but I don’t think it’s an across the board type of thing. In competition, people don’t often remember the names of the losers. However, if losers play their cards right and don’t give up, they can eventually become winners and sometimes surpass those who beat them the first time around.
I always acknowledge the failures because they make me try harder the next time.
Mitch´s last blog ..Do Black People Celebrate The 4th Of July Holiday?
Nice video.. I think failure is only the case if you give up on your journey of success. Its when you stop trying to succeed or learn from it and progress onward.
I just started a book called, “The Adversity Paradox” and it looks at this concept in detail. Loving it so far…
Mike King´s last blog ..Resources – May/June 2009
Twitter: mike_king
Hi Mike, I totally agree – failure only enters the picture if we give up. When learning stops, we’re done.
Twitter: mrjWells