Why failure is so important

The deep meaning and how to overcome it

Failure, as far as it hurts, is an important part of life, from the smallest one up to those one that shake a person’s world, altering completely the panorama of relationships, finances, and mental well-being.

Nobody is definitely a fan of failure, but this, through his life-changing lessons, makes people better. Indeed, failure is a great teacher of life; it can be seen as a natural chisel that eliminates “excess” and shapes the character.

Failure, in fact, unleash in the person more capability of feeling compassion and empathy towards others. Throughout failure is possible to learn the greatest lessons that life can teach.

But what is failure?

What is failure in detail? Why is it so important to fail before succeeding? How does it affect our thoughts, emotions, and actions?

When you think on failure, you tend to think negatively on it. Failure is considered painful, causes emotional upheaval, sense of guilt, regret, remorse, shame…
But those who have known true failure and handled it and overcame it, know that failure in life is necessary for success. Of course, failing hurts, but it is often necessary.

The most successful people we know most likely have failed even more than once. If you try to live life without fail, then you are not living at all. Taking risks and falling is part of life and makes us who we are.

A very simple example? A child how many times does he fall on the ground before he starts to walk? The fall cause pain and crying,

This is actually an example of a failure. But, despite falling, the child does not give up and pursues his goal … until he reaches it. The mother, even if she sees the baby falling continuously, knows that sooner or later he or she will learn to walk.

So why failure is not treated like this once once we get into the “adult” phase?

The society tends to celebrate success rather than highlight the journey to success which is full of trials, upheavals, setbacks and, precisely, failures. Talking about these things is, perhaps, a kind of taboo ?

Why is necessary to fail

In life, it is necessary to fail. Failure is a springboard, we can find 4 lessons that failure teaches us. If you have recently failed and are going through a difficult time, keep these important lessons in mind:

1. Experience
   The first important lesson from failure is experience. What happens when you fail? Failure alters completely a person’s mood through the induction of pain, leads to reflection on the true nature of things and their importance in life, transforming and improving our future self.
2. Knowledge
   Failure brings with it an important first-hand knowledge. Knowledge that can be used in the future to overcome a similar situation that caused, prior, so much pain. Nothing can replace the knowledge gained from failure.
3. Resilience
   Failing in life helps build resilience. The more you fail, the more resistant you become. If you think you are successful on the first try, then you must be prepared for a much more painful failure. Resilience, then, can help in many ways in life.
4. Growth
   When you fail, you reach deeper meanings and understandings about life and why you are doing certain things. This helps to reflect and see things in perspective, developing new meanings from painful situations.

How to overcome a failure

There are many ways to overcome failure. Once you understand what failure means and how it is serves you person, you can unleash your mind and open your heart. But how do you recover from failure? Here are some ways to do it.

1. Ignore others
   When you experience a failure, there will surely be the kind of people who will say “I told you so” or “You should have listened to me.” The key is to ignore these people. If they really love you they should endorse your decision and push you to move forward
2. Understanding that failure is completely fine
   One of the best ways to recover from failure is to understand that it’s okay to fail … but it’s even worse to give up. Moving forward, not giving up, is probably one of the best ways to recover from failure. Remember: this is not a real failure, unless you surrender and lock yourself in forever. Moreover, recovery from failure becomes much easier with the knowledge and experience accumulated thanks to it
3. Using failure as leverage
   Failure can be an excellent growth platform, an excellent lever for moving forward. Write down in what you failed and why you failed. What could you have done differently? How will you deal with these failures in the future? How will you learn from the past to help shape a brighter future? If you still believe in your goals, you can use failure as a lever to overcome the old limits of the past.
4. Review goals
   Review your past goals and see how clear they have been. Sometimes, failure comes from not setting goals in the right way. Not only do we have to set goals correctly, in a cristal clear details, but we also need to monitor and analyze them regularly.
5. Create an action plan
   Take your goals and define a structured action plan to achieve them. What will you do when failure shows up next time? When you have an action plan, you have a systematic way to achieve your goals, and dealing with the unexpected becomes much easier.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.
(Winston Churchill)