Failing Forward!

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
-- Henry Ford

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Failure is not a dirty word!

Why is it that some people allow failure to pull them down and keep them down?
It's only natural to experience feelings of sadness, disappointment, rejection or maybe even a little anger after failing at something. To deny these feelings would be to deny your human existence. It is the ability to think and feel that sets us apart from all other living things in this world. The initial feelings we experience from failure should be used as a catalyst to begin thinking of new ways in which we can improve and become better person.

Those that allow failure to pull them down and keep them down think of failure in a negative sense. Whereas, those that succeed in life, see failure as a necessary step in order to achieve success. Those that are weighed down by failure, either blame themselves, or someone else for their failure. The most damaging is to blame somebody else for you failure. When you don't accept responsibility, you falsely accuse someone else. When you accept no responsibility, you become blind to the need for change.

Those that internalize the cause of their failure, blame themselves because they do not see themselves as capable or worthy of success. Throughout their life they have come to believe that for them success is fleeting and failure is final. They generally have low self-esteem and do not like themselves. Blaming themselves serves to reinforce a condemning ego that says, "See I told you that you that you couldn't do it."

Those that do succeed don't blame their failures on themselves or others. They attribute their failure to a faulty process or plan. They see failure as an opportunity to get it right. Failure allows them to go back to the drawing board with more information than before. Failure's initial feelings do not last long. The feelings are quickly converted from negative energy to positive energy. It is the positive energy source that feeds determination and gives a person satisfaction knowing that success lies ahead.

Thomas Edison, perhaps the greatest inventor of all time, once said, "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."

It's your life; live it, love it & celebrate it!
MJD