Don't Run From Failure, Learn From It - Part 2

- Alfred Pennyworth (to Bruce Wayne) 

in "The Dark Knight"

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in

rising up every time we fail." - Ralph Waldo 

Emerson

FAILURE: state of inability to perform; a lack of success; a falling short; DEFICIENCY

"Anything that's worth doing is worth doing badly until you get it right." - Mr. Leroy Washington, as told to Les Brown

In Part 1 we talked about the possibility that failure is no different now than it was when we were growing up. 

I suggested failure is the same is at has always been; we just don't see it the same way. And people don't view us the same way whenever we experience a setback.  Don't believe it? 

When's the last time someone gave you a pat on the back when you had a stumble?  Was that the usual response? Or did someone get upset with you, yell at you, even curse you out when you fell short?

I've seen kids fall apart emotionally whenever they made errors playing sports.  Why you ask? 

Because they knew what they would hear from family, especially parents, in response. Loved ones flip out, losing total control of their emotions. 

Some yell, scream and curse out their own child for making mistakes. Gradually the child is scared away from sports or any other activity that's supposed to be fun due to such traumatic moments.

That's a big reason many children grow into adults too terrified to attempt anything, never mind making mistakes. They're paralyzed less by failure than by the fear of being chewed out every time they screw up.

And how does the saying go..? We only hurt the ones we love..?

People who overreact fail to realize (ironic, isn't it?) that temporary defeat is the price to be paid for future success.

Zig Ziglar often said, "Failure is an event, never a person." Sadly, everyone doesn't get the memo and many who do get it don't bother to read it, much less understand it.

Many of us believe that success means never having a setback, never falling short, never missing the mark...always hitting the target with every shot.

But suppose it's possible that all these years we've looked at failure the wrong way?  Before you tune me out, hear me out...

You may be wondering, what good could possibly come from enduring a moment of failure?

Well, nothing can if failure is an all or nothing event which means the end of the road, the end of all hope.

But what is failure wasn't any such thing?  What if failure wasn't really an end, but a new beginning? Part of a process on a journey of our own choosing?

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn." - Helen Keller

What if you could learn a lesson from each setback? What if Henry Ford was right when he said:

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently"..?

Suppose that instead of identifying with the pain, the embarrassment, the stigma, the sting of humiliation, we viewed failure some other way?

Instead of seeing a roadblock, a stumbling block, or a dead end, why not see an opportunity to learn, to grow, to improve?

How about taking the advice given to Simba by Rafiki in The Lion King, words of wisdom which apply to us all?

Don't run from failure, learn from it. Plain and simple.

Use the lessons failure teaches to grow stronger, wiser, better. Look at those times when things didn't work out, make adjustments, and go at it again with renewed, revived focus.

These are the same lessons we learned early in childhood, though we didn't realize it at the time. As the saying goes, if I knew then what I know now...

Well, now you DO know! You know better, you think better, and you make better decisions because of the lessons you've learned along the way.

Don't let the wisdom that you've received go to waste. Apply lessons learned through victory and defeat alike to make progress and turn your life around.

Then when people wonder how you got to be so successful, and the inevitable question is asked: Do you think I could as be as successful as you?

You can give them a straightforward answer, telling the truth and the whole truth of the matter:

It is possible to fail...to adjust...to improve...and to grow...

You can fall and get back up...

You can stumble and still move forward...

You can stall a little bit, and see yourself making progress because you haven't completely stopped.

And in the end, you will know that every time you fail, instead of staying fallen, staying down, staying defeated, you can do what Dave Koz suggests through the siren call of his soprano sax...

You can RISE...

That's all for now, gotta run.

Until next time, remember...

Keep it simple...See ya!