In our increasingly complex and competitive world, failure has become much more commonplace. Moreover, thanks to the advent of social-media and the 24-7 news cycle, failures and shortcomings are now immediately known and shared around the globe. It is no wonder that many of us are afraid to "get out of our boat" and often appear to be paralyzed due to our fear of failure. We have to overcome this fear and put our life in motion because "A life which does not go into action is a failure." I believe the first step to overcoming our fear of failure is to change how we look at failure by redefining the concept. With that in mind, I would like to provide you with six new ways to look at failure.
1. Failure = Practice. Athletes understand this concept. They fail daily in practice, whether they are practicing shooting in basketball, hitting a curve ball in baseball, or putting and chipping in golf, nobody is perfect all the time and if we are not perfect, then we are, in fact, failing at least some of the time. Remember the words of Thomas Edison: "I have not failed; I have simply found 10,000 ways it will not work."
2. Failure makes us smarter and stronger. Failure clearly illustrates what does not work and allows us an opportunity to determine what we need to do differently or what we need to start doing. My good friend, Kendra Giles once facilitated a presentation on what we need to stop doing, continue doing, and start doing. Failure provides us an opportunity to consider these three ideas much more intelligently. In addition, after we eliminate certain behaviors because we have identified them with our failure, we are then able to begin anew with both more vigor and confidence. Henry Ford reminds us "Failure is the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
3. Failure makes us resilient. Often when we fail we find that what we were so afraid of is not that bad. In fact, Plato tells us "Courage is knowing what not to fear." We discover that not only was our failure not fatal, but that it is a single, unsustainable act if we allow it to be. Moreover, we often discover that failure is simply a step on our way to future success. Benjamin Disraeli has a quote that addresses this perfectly: "Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure."
4. Failure equips us with leadership skills. Put simply, we cannot take others where we have not been or are afraid to go. As leaders, we must be willing to take the first step. Contrary to what we have heard from our current crop of politicians (politicians, not leaders) in the United States, there is no leading from behind. Leaders are out front, forging the path ahead, inspiring their followers to walk in their footsteps. Leaders go first.
5. Failure prepares us for success. Perhaps I should change this to read failure prepares us to handle success. Over the past 14 years I have counseled numerous students going through difficult times. During these times I share with them the following belief: God has to build us down before He builds us up. We need a strong foundation in order to handle the success ahead of us. How many times have we seen someone get too much too soon and the success overwhelms them and proves to be fleeting? Experiencing failure prior to our breakthrough prepares us to deal with the trappings of success.
6. Failure allows a deeper appreciation of success. Obviously these last two points go together and really serve to complement one another. There is a great quote from Truman Capote that sums up this point perfectly: "Failure is the condiment that flavors success." Only those who have been denied access to the mountaintop prior to reaching the summit can truly appreciate the victory.
I hope these six points assist you in in overcoming any fear currently holding you back. Changing our paradigm of failure is the first step in this process and should prove to get you started on your journey, wherever it may lead.
