22 March 2010
Confronting Failure
Posted by Moss under: Business .
“You may be disappointed in you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”
–Beverly Sills
Failure has gotten a bad reputation over the years. But here’s a fact of life: Everybody Fails! Failure is part of the success formula. People explore, initiate, and act on their hunches, and the information at hand. Most of the time they make mistakes, sometimes they screw up big-time. Gradually they cut out the stuff that doesn’t work: and keep the stuff that does.
People should be encouraged to fail—its part of risk-taking, learning, and success. There is a practical side of failure: partners learn from experience, become more resilient, and develop tougher hides. Many have taken the path of discovery and failed along the way only to try again, each time learning what not to do the next time.
Thomas Edison eventually succeeded by taking this path. So did Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Oprah Winfrey, and Walt Disney.
What’s the difference between partnerships that succeed and those that don’t?
Successful partners fail just like unsuccessful ones do. The difference is that successful partners think creatively about their mistakes. They learn, adapt, and act. They keep their focus on where they’re going. Failure spurs them on. They know that success is the best revenge.
Partners who become victims of failure take their downturns personally. They don’t use them as the terrific learning opportunities they are. Victim partners tend to repeat patterns that pull them further off course into a downward spiral.
Stay focused on your key targets, what you’re building and learn from your mistakes. Just never commit that mistake again. Make a “new” mistake instead.
Bottom Line
- Everyone fails.
- Don’t take it personally!
- The bigger the dream, the more likely it will fail – at least initially.
- In the face of failure, learn to control your emotions, especially anger and fear.
- Manage your thinking to stay focused and productive.
- Give yourself an “A” every time you fail; you’ve given yourself an opportunity to learn.
