I wish I’d had a better understanding of failure when I was younger.
I wished I’d known things like:
- Failure happens — to everybody. Everybody. Not. Just. Me.
- Failure may feel awful … like the end of the world … but most of the times, you wake up the next day and get a second chance at things.Â
- Failure does not define you. You are never a failure just because something you did failed.Â
- Failure makes you smarter … but only if you see it as an opportunity to learn something.Â
- Failure provides you with choices — to try again or to quit. Always try again.
I used to think failure was the worst thing that could happen. Now I realize failure happens. That’s the reality for everyone … and there’s freedom in accepting that truth. That doesn’t mean I don’t work as hard as I can to succeed — I do. But accepting the reality of failure allows me the chance to get over my mistakes and move on.
In Others’ Words: What helps you accept failure so that you can fall down but not stay down?
In Others' Words: Taking a Closer Look at Failure https://wp.me/p63waO-ep #quotes #failure Click To Tweet ' ... What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down.' quote by Mary Pickford https://wp.me/p63waO-ep #failure #perspective Click To Tweet
Comments 12
Sometimes failure DOES define you; we are all either inspirations, or cautionary tales. Both are needed.
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Andrew: I like what my friend, Wise Guy, says: Is this going to be “the” defining moment of your life or “a” defining moment of your life?”
By any reasonable calculus failure did define me; and that’s OK. Even though nearly everything to which I put my hand eventually ended in defeat or worse, it served as that Cautionary Tale.
I could use sophistry to say that failure was really success, looked at in another way, but I’m not a fan of duality and equivalence. Let it be failure.
Someone’s got to lose; I drew the short straw, and I’m not bitter, because it was showing up that counted.
Author
Andrew: I’m going to fight you on this, my friend.
You are reaping success out of your failure … out of your ongoing battle with cancer, which is costing you so, so much. But you are encouraging others. Showing others the way to persevere, to show up every day, no matter what the odds are against you.
You keep adding to your short straw.
OK, I will accept that! đ
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That’s a good quote, Beth, and also the distinction from Wise Guy. To me, falling down usually means I’m freshly reaquainted with my foundations, and that position often turns out to be like crouching in the starter blocks to take off in another Olympic Games sprint (or longer) with energy and purpose and a chance to medal.
Author
Wow, Dee … I will never look at falling down in the same way again … đ
Such a great quote and super thoughts! One of my boys dealt with a big-to-him failure last weekend. Not receiving something you expected to receive can be a hard thing to grapple with. But, failing is a part of life. I love the idea that failure is not falling down, but it’s staying down. We all grapple with failure, the question is, what will we do with it? The answer to this determines failure. Or not.
Author
One of the things we do as moms is help our children navigate failure … letting them know it doesn’t define them, but it does mold them.
I think for me, the key is nothing is failure if I’ve learned from it…but that is my choice to choose to learn. But then, if I haven’t learned from whatever I failed at, then I’ve learned something about myself…that I don’t want to learn…so I’ve learned anyway. ; ) Unlike Andrew, I am a fan of duality. There is always an up side, a bright side, a God-,moment in which to learn.
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Susan: Choosing to learn from failure automatically transforms failure into success. đ