Why Failure Is Important To Success In Business And Life
So many aspiring entrepreneurs, business people, and students do not understand why failure is important to success.
Personally, I have failed more times than I’d like to think about.
I’ve made some really bad mistakes.
The kind of mistakes that are true “game-changers.”
Life-altering mistakes.
Likewise, I could be wrong, but I’m willing to bet that some of you reading these words can identify with what I’m saying.
Therefore, In this blog post, I will discuss why we MUST change our view of failure.
What is Failure?
Here is the Wikipedia definition of failure:
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective and may be viewed as the opposite of success
When you think about the nature of failure in light of its definition, here’s what we understand:
Failure affects our thoughts.
It affects our actions.
Our emotions are in turmoil because of failure.
Failure is always looked at in a negative light by the masses.
Failure ushers in remorse, guilt, and regret.
However, as true as the above statements are, we’re going to have to do something radically different.
In order to be tremendously successful in life, there is one thing we have to change.
We have to completely change the way we view failure
You Can’t Think Like Everybody Else
This is a major point as to why failure is important to success.
If you talk to most people about failure, they will tell you one thing:
They spend all their waking hours trying to avoid it.
Basically, people work to avoid failure.
They do so to the point that when they do fail, and EVERYONE does, it’s extremely difficult for them to handle it.
When you look at the plague of alcoholism and the scourge of drug abuse, what do we conclude?
It’s obvious that millions of people are mentally ill-equipped to deal with failure.
The reason I say mentally ill-equipped is that’s where the battle takes place.
The fight is IN YOUR MIND!
It’s a mental battle that you have with your own thoughts.
Therefore, the ONLY WAY to learn to handle failures in life is to understand the following:
You MUST change the way you THINK.
YOU must do this!
If you ever hope to have any chance of living the life of your dreams, it’s critical to give attention to how you think.
Why Failure Is Important To Success – The Right View Of Failure
We need to understand some basic, key elements about life and failure so please pay attention.
You CAN NOT avoid failure.
Failure is and will be a part of life in this system of things.
In order to reach the heights of success, you MUST experience failure.
In life, it is NECESSARY to fail.
Why is failure so closely linked with success?
It’s because Failure is a stepping stone to improving your life mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Failure can only be a stepping stone to a better life if you allow it to be.
You have to allow the lessons of failure to make you a better person in YOUR OWN MIND.
Therefore, what exactly do we learn from failure?
Failure Brings With It Valuable Experience
The lessons gained from failure can be a truly life-altering experience.
Failure gives us a deeper understanding of life. It causes us to obviously avoid a certain decision that brought us pain and regret previously.
The firsthand experience we gain from failure gives us a heightened appreciation of the fragile nature of life.
We learn to appreciate the value of good, solid decision-making on a daily basis.
The consequences of our failures can make us much wiser individuals.
We learn from our failure to avoid certain habits, activities, and people.
What happens is when we experience the influx of PAIN from our failure it alters the neuro-pathways in our marvelous brains.
New neuro-pathways are created that are designed to get us to make the RIGHT decision in the future.
The induction of emotional pain forces us to reflect on the reality of our lives.
When we allow failure to transform our thinking, our future lives improve and head in a different, more successful direction.
Failure Brings With It Resilience
When we fail in life, it helps to build psychological resilience.
The person addicted to cocaine, heroin, or some other narcotic is an addict because they lack psychological resilience.
Also, the same is true of an alcoholic.
The more we fail, the stronger we become emotionally and mentally.
Here is the Wikipedia definition of resilience, which it calls “psychological resilience:
Psychological Resilience
Psychological resilience exists in people who develop mental and behavioral capabilities that allow them to remain calm during crises/chaos and to move on from the incident without long-term negative consequences.
The Wikipedia definition is right on target.
Similarly, the website Speakers Office has an excellent definition of resilience.
In the article entitled “What Does Resilience Mean to You”, Dr. Tony Alessandra states the following:
“Resilience means knowing how to cope in spite of setbacks, or barriers, or limited resources. Resilience is a measure of how much you want something and how much you are willing and able, to overcome obstacles to get it. It has to do with your emotional strength.”
What an outstanding definition of a much-needed quality.
Resilience Is Necessary For Success
Great successes in our lives cannot be achieved unless we are resilient.
For example, when I decided to learn how affiliate marketing works and start an affiliate marketing business.
I made many, many mistakes.
There were numerous times I wanted to just give up.
The most difficult part was getting my thoughts right.
My mind would race all over the place with all the negative reasons why I should just give up.
What made is worse was not getting the support from people I thought wanted to see me succeed.
Also, my environment was not allowing me to properly focus on the more important things.
There were only two things I could do:
I could just flat-out give up.
The other choice would be to become resilient and keep pushing through the failures and learn from them.
What would you have done?
What do you do when it’s obvious you’ve failed in some area of your life?
When you fail, what kind of thoughts are going through your mind?
No One Is Coming To Your Rescue
“No one is coming to my rescue…”
When the reality of that statement hit me
“Howard…No one is coming to your rescue.”
What I want you to do is understand the implications of that statement:
No one is coming to your rescue.
Success author Brian Tracy relates a very interesting experience in his book “Goals! How to Get Everything You Want–Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible”
He relates that at the age of twenty-one he lived in a small one-room apartment.
He had a dead-end job working construction.
To top it all off, he was BROKE.
One night, while sitting alone at his small kitchen table, Tracy experienced a sudden, overwhelming shock of awareness.
It was an awareness that changed his life.
Brian Tracy realized “No one was coming to the rescue.”
At that moment in his life, Tracy understood that whatever happens from that moment forward was completely up to him.
Are You Completely Honest With Yourself
Brian Tracy understood that if he did not change, nothing in his life would change.
During that critical moment in his life, he was completely honest with himself.
However, Tracy didn’t stay overwhelmed.
He didn’t allow the realization of where he was in his life to overpower him.
Actually, coming to this hard realization was the best thing that happened to him.
Likewise, the same can be true for YOU.
Have YOU come to the brutal realization that no one is coming to rescue you?
When you REALLY accept this fact of life, it can be empowering to you as well.
What this means is this:
You personally accept that what you make out of your life is in your hands.
Your success and the way you view failure in life are totally up to you.
Here are three points you need to understand regarding your ability to change your life:
- You are not powerless. You don’t have to wait around for someone to “show up” to help you deal with your problems.
- Actually, you have what you need within you to deal with life and to get what you want from it.
- Today. Right NOW, you can start to take action and progressively move toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams.
What Can You Do To Change The Way You Think
Keep in mind the most successful individuals we know have had massive failures in their lives.
Avoiding failure hinders your emotional and psychological growth.
The experience of failing at some aspect of our lives can give us experience that molds us into better individuals.
If we process the experience of failure properly, something wonderful happens inside our marvelous brains:
New neuro-pathways are formed that will alter our course in life for the better.
Along with that, there is one profound activity you can engage in that will change the course of your life.
Personal development, specifically reading.
Reading books that are designed to help us become successful, goal-oriented, forward-thinking individuals is critical.
It’s the #1 activity that alters the thinking patterns of your mind so that you can take your life to a whole new level.
Below are some recommended readings based on what is discussed in this post.
If you haven’t read these books and choose not to read them, you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice.
These three books are required reading for anyone who is serious about improving the quality of their lives.
If you REALLY want to change the way you think. you MUST read – every day – to “re-wire” your mind!
- The Power of Your Subconscious Mind -Dr. Joseph Murphy
- What To Say When You Talk To Yourself – Dr. Shad Helmstetter
- Negative Self Talk and How To Change It – Dr. Shad Helmstetter
Additional Resources From This Blog
- Why Do People Self Sabotage And Why You Need To Know?
- How To Fake It Until You Make It – What This Really Means
- Does Positive Visualization Really Work Or Is It All Hype?
- How To Handle Emotional Pain and Use It to Your Advantage.
- How To Be Relentless And Create a Success Mindset
The Choice Is Yours – Are You At A Critical Moment In Your Life?
If you are at that critical moment in your life, or even if you are not, you MUST live by one simple statement.
“Nothing in your life will change until YOU change.” – Jim Rohn
You. Must. Change.
It’s not the white
It’s not because you’re black.
Your unhappiness is not because of your father.
It’s not your mother’s fault.
The misery you feel is not because of the government.
There’s no clandestine conspiracy against you.
All of that “noise” you’ve been told is and you internalize isn’t true.
Do some of these circumstantial and environmental factors play a part in who we are as individuals? Yes, they can.
But only to the extent that you allow it to!
YOU and only YOU can decide how much of the “noise” and “excuses” you’re going to buy into.
Change, lasting positive change comes down to a few basic things.
There’s ONE THING you need to focus on to change your life:
It’s YOU.
Everything starts with you, your emotions, and your mindset.
Here is a plain and simple truth:
If you change your mindset, then you change your life!
You
Talk Soon,
Howard
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