Think about the gym. People who go there to build muscle and increase their strength, do it through resistance training. By lifting heavy weights, they’re breaking down their muscles. They’re causing a certain kind of damage. The muscle’s reaction? To adapt in order to defend itself against future attacks. After each session, the muscle regrows itself larger and stronger. As a result, the weights need to be increased.
In business, the same principle applies. Each failure, each “knock”, is the breaking down part of a process that strengthens and rebuilds. As Rumi says “if you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror ever be polished?” If you’re ready to embrace failure as strengthening exercises on the road to success, these habits could spur on the rewards you’re looking for;
Learn to look for lessons
Yes – we have all heard it before, look for the lessons in your failures. Actioning this in a practical sense is a power move – it enables you to assimilate more wisdom and experience and gives you stronger knowledge artillery. How can you identify learning opportunities? Ask yourself what went wrong – was it something you could have done differently? Was it an outside source? What measures can you implement in future on an ongoing basis to prevent this, or similar issues, from holding back your success in future?
Look for new opportunities
You know the old bible saying about a door closing and a window opening. Well, this is the business version. You don’t have to be religious to incorporate this powerful way of looking at the world into your habits. When an opportunity is no longer available to you, or if you have failed to succeed, the work you put into getting to this point is still relevant. Look for other avenues that will give you an opportunity to put that work to use. A winning attitude that empowers success involves identifying opportunities and seeing them as the natural after-effect of failure.
Failure is the colour palette on the tapestry of life
At the risk of overlapping with philosophy principles, failure gives your life colour and meaning. Mishaps make the best stories. Failures also give you a humble and approachable demeanour. the wisdom that comes from many failures makes you an interesting person to speak with – there are bound to be stories that are entertaining or enlightening.
A life of no mistakes and no failures is dry and bland and these people are often difficult to relate to because others find it easier to align themselves with someone who is human and imperfect. Failure is one of the most important aspects of success. Embrace it and consider it part of the creative and the learning process. Stepping straight into success wouldn’t give you the expertise that comes with excellence.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
