Admit it or not, the current COVID-19 crisis has taught us all quite a lot, especially with unexpected downfalls and failures. It has taught business as large as that of car shipping companies about how to deal with huge economic losses. And simultaneously, it brought knowledge of cautious trade to small scale businesses.
Zooming further into the failures highlighted by COVID-19, there comes the list of existential failures.
And it’s not only COVID-19 that made us face our failures. Life does it all the time. But COVID-19 had an advantage of bringing greater impact and realization as it took away most of our escapes.
At least for me, the pandemic had it this way. It had me face my failures to the extent that they weren’t discouraging anymore.
Allow me to explain
Failure – A Win in Disguise
In the world we live, failure has always been synonymous with defeat. Thus, at the mere mention of the term, one cannot help but feel discouraged, demotivated, lacking behind, and depressed. The same was the case for me. Instead of confronting my failure, it felt natural to make a run for escape – take a cover perhaps.
But time eventually taught me a fact; failure is a victory in disguise. If it weren’t for this inevitable part of life, I wouldn’t have made an inch of progress. I guess none of us would have.
For instance, this one time, one of my assignments at work got rejected. Not being used-to to it, I felt highly discouraged. I almost considered calling it quits when the team lead asked for a revision. At this point, I had no choice but to confront my points of failure. And although it was super-stressful, the process left me with a better approach of formatting and formulating my assignments. Thus, improving my overall performance.
Case Overview; Car Shipping Companies
Possibly, my personal experience might not change your views about failure. But maybe, an example involving 100+ individuals might. So many people can’t have been lucky all at once. Right?
Let us have a look at an important component of the auto industry: car shipping companies. I’ve chosen this example over others because automakers were already facing a decline before the pandemic. COVID-19 spared their graceful, eventual decline and had these companies jump straight into the jaws of failure.
While some chose to close down and escape, a few brave ones decided to stay, embrace, and improve. Along with bearing the loss, they studied their performance and studied the aspects of improvement. Today, we already hear about their upcoming electric cars and whatnot.
If they did not face the failure, they would have kept manufacturing the same technology over and over again. Thus, staying stuck in the same non-profitable cycle for more years.
But how exactly?
Up till now, we have discussed the concept of failure and how it influences almost every aspect of life. So, without further ado, let’s jump to the second part of the topic. How exactly does failure prove to be an opportunity to reflect on our strengths?
- Encourages Evaluation
- Leads to Better Decisions and Improvement
Undeniably, failure is inevitable. Everyone experiences it at least once when pursuing a certain objective. However, the only difference between all failing entities is of perception. If one emphasizes the positive aspects, one can unlock all the two ways stated-above that can transform failure into opportunity!
Instead of grieving after the loss, you should calm yourself and inspect the situation practically. Evaluate the events and figure what went wrong. By identifying the mistakes, you can avoid them in the future, make a better decision, and improve the overall result. Remember, both these ways have a connection. Hence, all you require for a failure to turn into opportunity is a positive approach!
Keep trying & keep growing!
Conclusively, failure is an output of trying. If we don’t try, we don’t explore. Both individually and communally, it means limiting yourself and adapting to a primitive way of surviving for no good reason. Hence, whenever you come across failure, do not halt your growth process. Instead, evaluate the situation, identify the mistake, improve yourself, and take a step closer to success!