7 Invaluable Lessons That Only Failure Can Teach You

“Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington

The thought of failure makes many of us cringe, mostly because of the immense pain and disappointment it carries. It also brings along disillusionment, hopelessness, a sense of utter defeat, and most importantly, a total loss of confidence. For that moment, we believe we just don’t have it in us to achieve what our heart desires, and what we’ve worked day and night for. What we sometimes fail to realize is, how important failure is for us. Yes, it’s very painful and we would like to do anything to avoid that pain, but it also brings along with it the experience and wisdom which we lacked before. Also, failure adds a certain flavor to life, which when looked upon in future, makes us proud of ourselves and helps us gain double the confidence we lost at the time. Failure can work wonders, but it’s really up to us what we choose to learn from it. So, if at this time, you are feeling the pain and just cannot imagine moving forward, take a step back, and try to understand what failure can teach you.

1. Experience

Yup, it’s the first thing failure gives us, and also the most important and the most valuable. Experience helps us wade through life’s tricky bends and turns. It makes us take a step back and take stock of exactly where we went wrong. And believe it or not, we know exactly what we missed. So, if you’re feeling let down, take a pause, clear your head, and reflect on your efforts. You’ll know exactly what to do to succeed.

2. Gives Clarity and Focus

It’s a process of enlightenment. When you think back with a clear head, you’ll gain clarity. If at the beginning your goal was a little vague and unclear, and you were unsure of exactly what to do to achieve it, then after facing failure, you’ll know clearly what you want and how to go about it. This feeling is invaluable. It helps you zero down on what you need to focus on, and will also help you eliminate what’s unimportant.

3. Reveals Weaknesses and Strengths

We are sometimes unaware of our weaknesses, or we just choose to ignore them, or maybe we don’t think they’ll hinder us in any way. But, it’s important for us to realize that we can only succeed when we conquer them. To succeed, we need to weigh both our weak and strong areas. It is important for us to analyze our weak points, accept them, and work on them. Failure gives us a clear view of both, and that is all you may need right now to stand back up and go after what you want.

4. Value

We wouldn’t know the value of success if we hadn’t faced failure. It makes us appreciate even the very small achievements of not only ourselves, but of others’ too, because we know exactly what it takes to achieve them. We know of the pain and the disappointment; therefore, we can never take the eventual success for granted. It makes us humble and wise, and never lets arrogance seep in.

5. Helps You Revise Your Approach

Failure gives us a clear view of the approach we took and the approach we should have taken to succeed. You may actually be surprised at how much clarity you’ve suddenly gained about everything. There may be things you didn’t know before, but now you have a clear understanding of, and this may be the key you need. So, think back and thoroughly analyze your approach and efforts, trace them, and pinpoint where it is that you went wrong. Make a new plan, and revise your approach based on your analysis.

6. Helps You Review Goals

Setting a goal is the most important step to achieve anything. But, sometimes, our goals may be unrealistic, or we may not have a clear view of them. Failure helps us gain a clear perspective, and helps us set practical goals. It is important to take into account our capacity, ability, time, and work needed to get a task done. Reviewing goals doesn’t mean changing them. If, at first, you don’t succeed, keep at it. Do not abandon them. Having a clear and practical view of your goals is the objective here. Giving up is definitely not a solution.

7. Gets Rid of Fear

So, you’ve failed. You’ve felt the pain of losing. Now, all you can do is try again and again. Because, now you no longer fear failure, you’ve faced it, conquered it, and moved on. So, there’s nothing to be scared of anymore. There’s nothing holding you back. Failure, in a way, liberates us. Getting rid of fear is the best thing that can happen to you. Often, it is the cause of failure. So, when you’ve faced it and won, what can stop you from succeeding now?

At the time though, it is hard to understand how failure can be good for you. Mostly, because we think failure is a negative event. It is not accepted by society, which creates a fear of failure in us. But, it’s important to accept failure as a part of life. Because it teaches us some of the most valuable lessons in life. It makes us stronger and more capable of dealing with the ups and downs that life throws at us. It gives us a clear understanding of what we need and what we want. Leave no stone unturned to achieve your dreams. Seek help where needed, and value your own insight where important. Nothing else in life reveals our true self like the way failure does. So, do not fear it, embrace it, accept it, and learn from it. Learn to stand up again without the fear of falling. Learn to focus on the important things, and manage time efficiently. Learn to keep trying and not giving up, because it is always better to fail than to not try at all.

16-Jan-2017