You always pass failure on the way to success-Mickey Rooney.
It is often said that failure is the path to success because often that path can be littered with failures that test our ingenuity, resilience, and determination. By learning from mistakes, we can indeed achieve a lot in life.
All of us experience failures in our lives because failure is part of life. While many of us accept and learn from failures, others of us may wilt in the face of failure, wallow in self-pity, or blame circumstances or others for our predicament. Much depends on our reaction to failure and it is often said that it is not failure, but our reaction to failure which matters most. We should expect failures, learn from them and just move on.
As Albert Einstein once said: A person who never made a mistake never tried anything. If we are prone to succumb to a failure we must guard against allowing failures to define us. We cannot afford to live in the past, to focus on past hurts, to let emotions dictate our reactions. If something is worth doing then have the confidence to do it and accept the outcome.
Failures can make us stronger if we learn from them. Failures toughen us and help build resilience, but only if we are prepared to forget and move on. Having the right attitude is key to overcoming failure and moving on to eventual success. Attitude is more important than ability or intelligence. I’ve failed over and over in life and that is why I succeed-Michael Jordan.
There is no one definition of success as success is different for everyone. It is important not to equate success with accomplishments. Success can be about achieving contentment and inner peace or about having good relationships or good family life; it can be about living your life the way you want to live.
Sometimes we need to stop chasing things that do not really matter. Perhaps we fail because we are on the wrong road. Checking and re-engineering our priorities should be a regular practice. We are best when we focus on what we care about or on what inspires us. By forgetting the past, living in the present, and planning for the future we will be best equipped for success.
People who are positive, persistent, and patient do eventually achieve success. President Lincoln, the 16th US president, failed many times to get elected to public office before eventual success. Stephen Spielberg was rejected twice for entry to a university course on cinematic and media studies; Walt Disney suffered initial rejection before building his media empire; Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job.
Failures can show us where we have room to improve. We learn by trial and error so failure teaches us lessons about becoming better next time. We grow through continuous learning as we strive to achieve our goals. The search for different routes to success may often require us to step outside our comfort zones. Thomas Edison, who invented the lightbulb, said that he failed thousands of times before eventual success. Each failure pushed him to modify his ideas and techniques and by trial and error, he eventually succeeded.
As Winston Churchill once said: Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. It’s the courage to continue that counts. It’s also about looking on the bright side of life and learning that life experiences can make us better and braver if we adopt the right attitude. Have the courage to try, have the resilience to bounce back from failure, and have the humility to accept success when it presents itself to you.
Only those who fail greatly can ever achieve greatly-Robert F. Kennedy.