Why Failure Is Good And Important


Failure is often frowned upon if not outright feared, and many of us wish that everything we tried our hand at went smoothly at the first attempt. In reality, we fail more often than we don’t, and that is actually a good thing. No one is born a master, and without failure there would be no success. If we embrace the art of failing forward, we can and will become happier and stronger versions of ourselves.

This post is a part of the The Beauty Of… series which concentrates on shifting our focus away from the negatives in life and towards finding the positives and improving certain aspects of a situation so that we will actually enjoy it.

STORY TIME

: A Healthy Relationship With Failure :

To me, failure has never been something I’ve avoided as a whole. Of course, I, too, am afraid of failing in certain parts of my life, but I never let it hold me back from trying out things I want to do.

I moved out of my parents when I was 19 because I wanted to live independently, and have provided for myself ever since without support from anyone else. Did I have sleepless nights now and then over the years? Absolutely, but I knew I could cope with everything life threw at me because I set my mind to it.

Over the course of my working life, I have always applied to jobs even when I wasn’t a 100% match. Was I worried that I wouldn’t get invited to a job interview? Not at all, just as I don’t like every job, a company is also free to not want me on their team. Interestingly, though, more often than not, I did get hired.

I went on a 560-mile hike as an absolute non-athletic person (read: no exercise whatsoever ever since PE in high school) and reached my destination within the timeframe I had set for myself. When people told me, “Oh wow, I could never do that. Don’t feel bad if you don’t make it all the way, trying it is already good.”, I felt a bit offended. Failure was just never an option for me.

I wrote a novel of 130,000 words (500+ pages) because I love reading and wanted to see if I was able to tell a story myself. And although I haven’t taken the next step of getting in touch with an agent I’m really happy I’ve done it. Sometimes it’s all about the journey and not the destination.

It never occurred to me that I was doing things differently from other people until friends pointed it out wondering how I went about these things. I didn’t have an answer as I wasn’t making conscious decisions, but we were able to pin it down to a specific mindset that in my case seemed to be different from theirs.

Have I failed in life? Oh, yes, and in so many ways, shapes, and forms that it actually warrants a post of its own (I will link it here once I’ve written it).

The goal in life isn’t to be perfect from the start and avoid failing altogether – it’s becoming comfortable with failing and seeing it for what it is: a natural part of every journey and nothing to be afraid of but something to be excited about.

SHIFT YOUR MIND

: Why Failure Is The Key To Success :

Many people look longingly at the success stories of others, but what they see is only the end of their journey. We marvel at what they have and wish we could have the same – be as content, have the same cozy home, live in an equally loving relationship, etc. What we tend to ignore in all this, is the fact that the road leading up to where these people are today was paved with numerous bumps – and their secret to success was their perseverance and their will to never give up.


:1. Failing Is Essential For Living:

Without failing and trying again – sometimes over and over and over again – there would be no life as we know it.

Being resilient to failure is what drives us forward and makes us stick to a goal even if we haven’t reached it on the first try. It’s almost scary to think about the many things we wouldn’t have achieved if we had given up too soon – both as mankind as well as as individuals.

Learning to walk, learning to speak, learning to write – all of these actions are normal to (most of) us. If we had approached failure as children the same way we often do as adults, however, we would have achieved none of it.

As children, we don’t carry around the doubt that we can achieve things – we see or think of something and naturally know deep down in our hearts that we can reach it. The question is not if but when.

Likewise, failing at trying isn’t regarded as something negative but as something positive – yet another step closer to where we want to be, and the chance to learn from what we did to make it better the next time around.


:2. Failing Encourages Self-Development:

If everything is always given to us without us having to work and make an effort for it, then that experience won’t allow us to grow. Additionally, we often don’t appreciate the result the same way we would if we had tried and failed until we finally succeeded. Things we receive at no cost or or effort from us, simply don’t carry the same value.

Failure tends to also make us more humble as we’re conscious of the struggle and focus that others who tried the same thing experienced as well. We might even develop compassion for other people and sympathize with their struggles because we can relate to them.

Quite often, it opens up our minds to other perspectives and approaches as thinking outside the box might help us find the solution to the task at hand when everything we’ve been able to come up with on our own has failed.


:3. Failing Makes You Become Better:

Failing makes us better. We make mistakes and by doing so figure out what obviously doesn’t work. Going forward, every time we try again, we will tweak something about our approach to receive better results.

By failing over and over again, we little by little become experts at what we do in a way, until one day it all falls into place and that thing we’ve tried finally works out.

Some of us might take longer to reach our goal, and for others, it goes a lot quicker, so the most important ingredient is patience.

Then some fail once and never try a second time. This is unfortunate and such a shame because it is a numbers game. The more often we fail, the closer we are to the finish line. We don’t call it failing forward for no reason.


:4. Failing Is Never Permanent:

Failing at something naturally carries the option of succeeding at it as well. We might not be quite ready to reach our goal just yet for the lack of the right tools – but the solution is out there. If it wasn’t, other people would not have been able to succeed at it either, and if there is only one person in the world who did what we are aiming to do, you know it actually can work.

An interesting way to look at failing is to think of it as a process. We haven’t failed until we put things down and give up for good. As long as we keep on trying and adjusting our modus operandi, we’re still in the game, on our journey, on the path to where things can work out.

We don’t need to stop where we have failed. We are the ones who decide what to do next and whether failure is the end of it or if we keep going. We can change things, and turn them around. And sometimes, what we deem to be a failure along the way can even turn out to be our biggest success in the end (Post-Its and Viagra were discovered by accident as well by the way).


It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.

Joanne Rowling

Help this ugly duckling turn into a swan.
This website is brand new and hasn’t gained much traction yet, so I rely heavily on word of mouth. If you enjoyed what you read so far, it would make my day if you shared it with friends and family and followed me on social media. Thank you! ❤︎

REACH YOUR GOAL

: How To Deal With Failure :

Failing is inevitable in life unless we decide to not even bother trying. That on the other hand would not be an ideal way to go through life either because we would miss out on so many amazing experiences along the way.


:1. Regret Always Outweighs Failure:

Let’s do a thought experiment: Imagine you go to the doctor for a routine checkup and are told you only have three more months to live. How would that make you feel?

If you’re like me – and probably most people on this planet – the emotion that would overtower all others would be regret. Regret over all the things we haven’t done, all the experiences we put off until who-knows-when, and all the words we wish we had spoken out loud instead of only thinking them in our head.

According to Bronnie Ware who wrote the book The Top Five Regrets Of the Dying, the most prominent regret dying people have on their deathbed is that they wish they had dared to live a life true to themselves, and to me, that is directly linked to the fear of failure.

It becomes more obvious when we ask another question: What would I try out if I knew with absolute certainty that I couldn’t fail at it?

These are the things we should pay close attention to because they are close to our hearts, and the only reason we’re shoving them away or telling ourselves they’re not that important is that we’re afraid of trying.

But wouldn’t it be worse to one day look back at your life and ask yourself what could have been if only you had been brave enough?


:2. Failing Makes You Less Afraid:

We all love our comfort zones, the areas in our lives that we feel comfortable and secure in. We know how things work and what usually happens, and there is nothing that surprises us (negatively).

The thing about comfort zones, though, is that they look cozy from the outside but are like a sticky honey trap on the inside. We think they are what we want and need, but in reality, they are anything but.

While we feel safe staying put in place, this will eventually backfire. The more we avoid doing things outside of our routine, the more we start to fear the unknown. There are so many things that can go wrong, and so much stuff that we cannot control, right?

Before we know it, our formerly safe world has shrunk to a tiny island that feels like a cage. Let’s make a conscious effort to break free again.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”, and that is a pretty wise bit of advice. If once a day is too scary, going with once a week is perfectly fine, too.

Things won’t always go as planned, and we will stumble over obstacles we didn’t anticipate. But little by little our little island will grow, the cage door will open, and eventually, our comfort zone will grow bigger with every failure we have overcome.


:3. Failing Forward Actually Exists:

Failing forward is actually a thing. There is no final point in time where failing at something is ultimate, and where we have reached a final stop.

If doing something one way didn’t work, there are still a million other ways out there that we can try, and all of them are valid options.

This isn’t math, where only a single solution is the correct one. This is life, where we can take numerous paths that all end up at the same destination. And that’s the beauty of trying something out, failing, and adjusting our ways before trying again.

And who’s to say something was a failure anyway? Every time we try something and don’t get the result we wanted, we will have learned something else because of it. Maybe it was just a logical step on the path to something bigger.

If we fall, it’s no big deal. It only will be if we decide to not get up again.


:4. Failing DOES NOT Make You A Failure:

This might be the most important realization we can have regarding failure, and if you only take one thing away from this post, please let it me this:

Just because you’ve failed at something doesn’t mean that you, as a person, have become a failure. We can fail at something, but we cannot fail as someone – never let anyone tell you that.

By the way, there is no universally valid definition of what failure is anyway. Five people could look at exactly the same person or situation, and three of them would see it as a failure while two would think of it as a success or a step in the right direction.

It’s simply a matter of perspective, and in that way, I love how Bob Ross used to look at his goof-ups while painting. Whenever small parts of his paintings didn’t turn out the way he wanted (yes, it happens to the best of us), he regularly referred to them as happy accidents and just went on.

Let’s learn from him, show ourselves some love and compassion, and deal with our mistakes, and failures the same way: They’re happy little accidents, and we’ll do better next time.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

: Questions To Ponder Over :

  1. What has someone admired about you that you personally thought of as a failure?
  2. Which failure moved you forward in life (even if you couldn’t see it at the time)?
  3. What do you NOT mind failing at because trying out / doing it is actually enjoyable?
  4. If you failed at the same thing as someone else – whom would you judge harder?
  5. Why do you perceive failure as something negative instead of something positive?


I’d be thrilled to hear from you in the comments below.
Don’t be shy.

HAVE A LOOK

: Information For Research :

Would you like to see an article on a particular topic?
Because I would love to write about something I know someone will enjoy (instead of writing for the void without knowing whether anyone will ever read it).

You can be as detailed as possible or write a one-liner – either is perfectly fine.
Comment below or get in touch here.

CONCLUSION

: Key Takeaways From This Post :

Failure is a natural part of life, and it’s necessary for growth and success. If we learn to embrace it, we can and will become more resilient and on top of that develop as a person to end up happier and a whole lot braver.

Looking at failure as something positive instead of something to fear

  • helps us learn and improve, leading to eventual success
  • avoids regrets over missed opportunities and things that are dear to our heart
  • lets us learn from mistakes and fail forward helping us become better along the way

So let’s step out of our comfort zone, remember that failing at something doesn’t make us a failure as a person, and get on board for the happy failure ride that is our life.

How useful was this post?


10 Comments Why Failure Is Good And Important

  1. Avatar for AlexAlex May 6, 2024 at 1:48 PM

    Dear special someone who is reading my blog,
    spacer
    I’m so excited you took time out of your day to read this post and even made it all the way down to the comments section. I’d love to hear from you and exchange thoughts and ideas – so please get in touch!

    spacer
    Did you enjoy the read? Could you relate to anything in particular? Were you hoping for something I missed? I’m posting new articles weekly and am open to topics to write about. Is there anything you would love to see a post on? If so, comment here or send me an email. I’ll happily look into it.

    spacer
    This website is brand new and hasn’t gained much traction yet, so I rely heavily on word of mouth. It would make my day if you shared articles you enjoyed with friends and family and followed me on social media.
    spacer

    You can also sign up to be notified via email whenever new posts are available.

    spacer
    I’m happy to have you here and get to know you better over time.

    spacer
    All the best,
    Alex

    Reply
  2. Avatar for waar lederderm te vinden in Nederlandwaar lederderm te vinden in Nederland September 20, 2024 at 1:24 PM

    El medicamentos está disponible para su compra en línea en México Accord
    Klaus Acquista farmaci senza prescrizione in Emilia-Romagna,
    Italia

    Reply
  3. Avatar for стационарлық зерттеу деген нестационарлық зерттеу деген не September 23, 2024 at 2:14 AM

    мобильный пос терминал халык банк, терминал халык банк как пользоваться аты аңызға айналған батыр бауыржан момышұлы сабақ жоспары, бауыржан момышұлы 1 сынып айс аттк,
    ис аттк 2012 жыл, 2014 жылы қазақстанда не болды

    Reply
  4. Avatar for рефлекторлық доғаның түрлерірефлекторлық доғаның түрлері October 2, 2024 at 3:36 PM

    зерделі алтын сақа, алтын сақа олимпиада тапсырмалары сызықтар
    мен штрихтар жүргізу тәсілі, бейнелеу өнерінің жанрлары мен түрлері куриная грудка с
    картошкой на сковороде, куриная грудка с картошкой
    в сметане в духовке авто без
    водителя, аренда авто без водителя актау

    Reply
  5. Avatar for шошып ояну дұғасышошып ояну дұғасы October 4, 2024 at 5:20 PM

    курс музыкальной литературы
    aip almaty, новости казаэронавигации пиза сұрақтары қазақ тілі, пиза тапсырмалары 8 сынып жауаптары қазақ тілі народный банк режим работы в воскресенье, народный банк режим работы в субботу

    Reply
  6. Avatar for будут ли у нас отношения расклад таробудут ли у нас отношения расклад таро October 13, 2024 at 1:17 AM

    молитва об очищении снится что
    жена гуляет от мужа аметист фиолетовый для какого знака зодиака
    к чему снится цветущий яблоневый сад женщине собака с течкой приснилась

    Reply
  7. Avatar for новости казахмыс на сегодняновости казахмыс на сегодня October 25, 2024 at 9:44 PM

    мона лиза сипаттау, мона лиза
    құпиясы казтрансгаз аймак актау руководитель,
    актау газ сервис телефон жол қозғалысы ережелері 2022, жол жүру ережелері
    қабылдаудың қандай ерекшеліктері бар, ақпаратты қабылдаудың неше түрі бар

    Reply
  8. Avatar for әдептілік тәрбие бастауы тәрбие сағаты 9 сыныпәдептілік тәрбие бастауы тәрбие сағаты 9 сынып October 26, 2024 at 12:06 PM

    арнайы мектептегі тәрбиенің негізгі
    түрлері, арнайы мектептегі тәрбие жұмысының бағыттары монке би толгауы, мөңке
    би қандай ізгі қасиеттерді дәріптейді deepcool dq850 инструкция, deepcool pm850d обзор моноэтникалық
    деген не, қазақстан халқының моноэтникалық құрамының өзгеруі

    Reply
  9. Avatar for педагог мәртебесі туралы заң неше баптан тұрадыпедагог мәртебесі туралы заң неше баптан тұрады October 30, 2024 at 8:40 PM

    телефонные коды областей казахстана,
    87172 код города киа рио цена алматы,
    kia rio x алматы жұмбақ қабырғасы тор көз төбесінде зор көз, қазақтың салт дәстүрлері жұмбақ стандартный пин-код хуавей, код разблокировки huawei бесплатно

    Reply
  10. Avatar for секс с женой дома после работысекс с женой дома после работы November 3, 2024 at 9:14 PM

    безопасная подработка в интернете для подростков работать
    удаленно на компанию подработка в научной сфере подработка для студента гомель

    Reply

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *