9 Reasons Why Failure Is Not Only An Option, But A Key To Our Success

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hz_s2XIAU

A common question I get from my consulting clients regarding data backup is, “Do you think my hard drive will ever fail?”  And I always answer by stating that, “It’s not a matter of if, but when.”

Failure is the same way.  In our pursuits for success we must come to the realization that WE WILL FAIL at some point.  But we shouldn’t fear failure. We should embrace it as an essential tool that will help us on our journey.  If we can achieve this mindset we will be able to reap the rewards of failure. If we can not, we will most certainly never reach our goals.

So here are some of the reasons why failure, if received with the right perspective, can be a key to our success.

1:  It breaks the ice

Often times our greatest hindrance in any endeavor is fear of the unknown.  We are afraid of what might be around the corner, be it failure, pain or regret.  We are not sure of our future and therefore we hesitate in our actions.

What failure gives us is a greatly needed smack in the face.  It kind of ‘rips the band-aid right off’, if you will.  It is after we fail that we welcome progress over perfection. We no longer fear rejection because it has just reared it’s ugly head and we survived.  Not only this, but we realize that the pain wasn’t as bad as we feared (our fears are almost always an exaggeration of the truth).

2:  It humbles us

Arrogance usually comes from insecurity or over-security.  Being overly confident can get in the way of our success.  Humility is a much different animal.  By accepting our shortcomings and appreciating others for their own significance in our lives, being humble allows us to make progress without the need for self assurance.  Just be careful, though.  When you face failure in your life, it is important to let it humble you, not tear you down.

3:  It pushes us

If we always succeeded we would never achieve the levels of greatness that we see today.  Pursuing a goal might be enough to drive us to do well, but it’s pursuing a goal that has slipped through our fingers that drives us to our greatest effort.  Use the sting of failure to feed your desire for success.

4:  It teaches us

We all may know that failure can teach us how to succeed.  You know, that whole ‘learn from your mistakes’ thing.  But how exactly does failure accomplish something that seems so contradictory to it’s nature?  Let me use an example from my business:

Let’s say I’m working with a client at their office.  They have a software glitch that is rendering their network useless.  So I first take a look and see if it isn’t anything obvious.  No, nothing I can see off hand.  Then I ask a few quick questions to see if I can’t narrow my options.  After that, I get back on one of the computers and start to narrow down the possibilities as I troubleshoot the issue.  The more failed attempts I encounter as I try to resolve the glitch, the closer I get to fixing the problem.

So it is in life.  How do we pursue a goal?  With actions based on our best guess of what will work.  If that idea doesn’t work we make note of it and move on to the next best guess.  We are narrowing down the possibilities; troubleshooting the ‘issue’.  The more failures we encounter, the closer we get to finding the solution to our success.

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” ~ Henry Ford

5:  It helps us relate to others

One thing that you can be certain to have in common with others is failure.  We have all failed and felt the sting of defeat.  It is this common experience that, if we let it, can give us a way to connect with others.  Knowing that another human being has ‘lost the same battle’ gives us comfort and a desire to encourage the other to ‘get back in the game’ while you too are encouraged.

6:  It marks our progress

Failure has a wonderful knack for reminding us of where we came from and where we are going.  It’s a perspective builder. If we always succeed we will never truly appreciate our success.

7:  It defines us

Just like all of those referred to in the video, our failures define who we are just as much as our success.  It is not the hills, but the valleys that give us our true character.

8:  It makes us stronger

To be successful we need to have mental and emotional strength.  Like any muscle, we need to be broken down, then built back up, stronger than ever.  If we can withstand our failures, we will only grow stronger and more capable of reaching our goals.

9:  It becomes a badge of honor

Failures are like war wounds. We battle it out each and every day and rarely come away unscathed.  But we should be proud of these ‘scars’.  To me, they’re not representative of what we didn’t accomplish, but instead, what we’ve been through in the pursuit of our success.  The more ‘scars’ we have the more we can show ourselves our ability to keep moving forward.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” ~ Denis Waitley