Failure is something that no one wants to experience, yet we all do at one point or another. Failures can leave us feeling hopeless like we have ruined our lives. They can scar us and keep us from pursuing future dreams. If you were to think back to when you failed, you would most likely experience negative feelings.
No matter how long ago the mistake was made. The good news is that you don’t have to feel that way anymore! You can move on from those failures and never make the same mistakes again. You can even look back on your mistakes as learning experiences. Here are some tips on how to turn your failures into lessons instead of setbacks.
Don’t Sweat It!
To learn from your mistakes, you have to approach them with a level head. Beating yourself up will only make mistakes seem much bigger than they actually are. Often, we can blow things out of proportion until that little mistake we made is a huge mountain that we can’t get over.
Give yourself a bit more grace! You are, after all, only human. Everyone experiences failure in one way or another. We give so many people second chances, and yet, we fail to cut ourselves some slack. You need to be your own biggest cheerleader even when you fail. When we can look at ourselves through the eyes of acceptance, we’re able to see the root of the problem.
The blame might not fall on you! You could be blaming yourself for something that couldn’t be helped. Failures can turn into learning experiences if we stop clouding our eyes with guilt and shame. Just take a deep breath. Do something relaxing that you enjoy taking your mind off the mistake, then analyze it. Try to see the big picture. Will this failure matter 10 years from now? Chances are, it won’t.
Change Your Point Of View
View the situation from the eyes of someone you trust. Tell someone about the mistake who won’t tear you down but who will give you another viewpoint. Failure tends to alter our emotions so much that we can’t even think straight, let alone come to terms with our shortcomings.
Ask your trusted person for advice on what could have been done to prevent the problem and what needs to happen going forward. If you have more than one person, you can trust for sound advice, even better. You can always hire virtual assistants to help you along the way. After all, variety is the spice of life. Multiple sources of wisdom are great to have in times of failure because the more pieces of advice you have, the more likely you are to find something that works for you! Being able to vent to someone is a great stress reliever as well.
Think Of The Circumstances Surrounding The Mistake
Were you stressed out or angry? Were you in a different mindset or a new environment? How were you feeling physically that day? Were you distracted? All those things could have played a part in your failure. Take note of the various details surrounding the mistake. Something as simple as one tiny distraction could have caused you to completely lose control of a situation.
A lot of mindless mistakes are made due to the little changes that don’t seem significant. Once you can identify the factors contributing to your failure, you can prevent that same scenario from happening again! You can’t change your ways until you know exactly what you need to change. Try to see the failure as a whole, not just one little detail. Failures are like puzzles. There are many different pieces of a situation that fit together to make a whole. Once you find the variable at fault, do not let yourself get into the same situation again.
Take Action!
Now that you have calmed down, thought about the situation and gotten your advice. Make a plan! Sit down and develop a plan so that you don’t have to learn the same lesson twice. Even if your failure was an extremely rare situation, think of a way to prevent it from happening again. If you’ve had a financial failure, make a budget or meet with a financial adviser. If you’ve failed in a relationship, take a break and re-evaluate yourself and your needs.
Your failures can be more than just something you have learned from, but others can learn from your mistakes as well. Telling someone else about your failure not only helps them but also gives you accountability. Some of the greatest, most successful people in business are those who have shared the ways they’ve bounced back from failure.