Failure is one of life's experiences that is heavily misunderstood. You will be surprised how a lot of people see failure as a sign of weakness, or as a life sentence, or that they are not good enough. But what they fail to understand is that failure is not a dead-end, it is actually a teacher if you can wield it appropriately. A lot of the people who have succeeded in their various fields of endeavours once failed. As a matter of fact, the difference between the people who have succeeded and the people who have remained stuck at a point is not the absence of failure. It is simply because the former have learnt from their failure without losing hope.
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A friend of mine once wrote an exam and she did not do well in it even though she studied extensively for it. The exam was so technical that you need more than just knowledge to pass. After the exam, she felt bad that she did not make it in one sitting. But she did not lose hope. What she did was to take a review of what went wrong. She reviewed her mistakes, and it was then that she realised that she did not manage her time well. So she learnt about time management, and then studied extensively. She rewrote the exam and passed excellently well. But much more than that, what she learnt from her failure also helped her in her future exams. And she became better academically.
A lot of the successful people you know have stories of setbacks; like collapsed business, failed exam, wrong step, missed opportunity, plans that did not work out, failure to grow at some points, etc. This is just as a kid would fall a couple of times while learning how to walk, but it will still not stop them from eventually walking. In life, you may stumble on your way to success, but it does not mean that you will not attain your dream. You should have in mind that failure does not mean that you are not capable, it actually means that you are learning. It has a lot of things to teach if you are willing to learn.
The danger is not necessarily because you failed, but if you allow the failure to define you or to make you to stop trying. You are not to internalise failure. That is instead of saying that you are a failure, you should say that you failed at an attempt. This will make you to see that you can still succeed at it. Do not allow a single event of failure to become an identity for you. The mistakes you made are experiences, not your label. In other words, you should separate what happened to you from who you are, so as to protect your confidence and keep your hopes alive. No matter how many times you have failed, it does not make you a failure if you still find a way to get back up on your feet.
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It is worthy to note that failure also provides valuable feedback. It will show you your areas of weakness that need to be worked on. It will also expose lack of preparation, lack of focus, and wrong strategies. Instead of ignoring these feedbacks, it will do you a lot of good to study them and learn from them. Instead of hitting your head over a failed attempt, you can ask yourself what you can learn from it. This will make your next attempt to be a lot better, so as to achieve a better result. It is by observing and learning from these feedbacks that you will convert setbacks into stepping stone.
Failure also teaches resilience. This is simply the ability to rise again even after you have been disappointed. It will require emotional strength and you having a positive perspective about life. If you experience a failed attempt, it may be natural to feel disappointed at the moment, but do not remain there. You need to remind yourself of your dream and what you want to achieve. This will give you the zeal and the motivation to rise up and take another step. You also need to keep one thing in mind; you should surround yourself with the people who will support and motivate you even if you have made a failed attempt. This is so as to keep your vision alive.
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