The Concept of Failing

Lay-off Tip #18: Don't Be Afraid to Fail

Why does the word failure have such a negative stigma? Why are we so afraid of failing or of pushing our children not to fail? If we think of it at the basic level of fail vs. succeed, of course we're going to want success. But the more I explore what is next in my life and the more I read about success stories, I realize that life is filled with failed moments and major roadblocks. The most successful people in the world have failed along the way. Yet they pick themselves up and start again. That is the key.

This concept inspired me to look back in history at some folks who failed often before they ultimately succeeded.

• Henry Ford - before forming the successful Ford Motor Company, Ford was left broke five times from failed businesses
• Walt Disney - no one can argue with this success right now as it's a powerhouse company, but Walt Disney himself had a rough start, being fired by a newspaper editor because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He then had a number of business that failed and went into bankruptcy but he kept pushing.
• Thomas Edison - in his early years, teachers told Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." And he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. In addition, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb - 1,000! But he kept trying and eventually got it right.
• Michael Jordan - most people know that Michael was cut from his high school basketball team before he went on to become a star. Jordan always appreciated how these setbacks helped him along the way and he is famous for this quote, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

There is much to be said from these stories and for me it's just so inspiring. I don't believe that some people just get lucky. Sure luck is a part of it but I believe life is about hard work and it is absolutely about knowing how to fail. The failure lasts for a moment. But it's how you deal with it that lingers on. We need to start accepting that failure will be a part of life. That is when you really live - when you learn where you need to improve; where you need to ask for help; where you really have passion. We mustn't shy away from this concept - rather we need to start preparing for what we will do when we do fail.

I'll end with the following quote: "Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing."

Here's to growth!
Rachael