I have failed. And I say this with no inhibition, no shame and no self loathing, but I would rather not write about my encounters with failure here. I would like to remind myself and all those who chance upon this post about the real implications of failure.
It is all too well to succeed in everything one has ever attempted; all too well to never have to see the ugly face of failure, but those who have encountered failure from a close proximity know that it isn’t as bad as it is made to be believed.
For one, it is only after you have failed, and failed big for that matter, that you find closure. If you failed at something you loved, you would realize how much it meant to you, and would get back at it with much more vigor and zeal. On the other hand, if you failed at something that did not have your heart, the failure would only encourage you to take a different course of action, most probably the one that takes you to your dreams. As Henry Ford had quoted, “Failure is the only opportunity to begin again, this time more wisely.”
Secondly, failure also tests you in the most basic way. It puts a road block in your journey and you are forced to find a way to remove it and continue walking towards your destination. Imagine a place that has the most breath taking view on earth and there are two routes to it. One is a motorable road and you will be given a vehicle to reach the destination; the other is a trek route with boulders and waterfalls and you will have to hike through the unchartered terrain to reach the spot. Sure the sensible choice would be the former option, but if you are made to take the road laced with hardships, you would get to see and learn so much more on your way to the destination. You will learn to analyze what went wrong and try new and improved methods to succeed, which in itself would be an achievement. You will learn your strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly your true passions and dreams.
Failure also teaches you to be a better human being. As Sir Winston Churchill once quoted, “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” It takes a lot of courage to pick up the pieces after a failure, and be optimistic that life will turn around. It takes a lot of will power to either restore or make something totally new of what the rest think is broken beyond repair. It takes a lot of character to listen to the sneers and comment of your worthlessness and failure at achieving what everyone else conquered, and yet wake up each morning with the conviction that all is not lost and that you will find a way to fix things, no matter how many times you fall down. It takes a lot of strength to believe that just because you fell down once, twice or maybe even more does not mean that is where you belong and to trust in your abilities to make it big someday. In a nutshell, failure imbibes self conviction, optimism, determination and strength of character.
Someone who has encountered enormous failure and come out of it with flying colors has the ability to turn any situation in his favor. History is a testament to the fact that every great leader and every eminent personality of the past had, at one point or the other, encountered failure and had emerged from it as a winner. Be it Spartacus, Thomas Alva Edison, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, the common link between all of them is that in the face of adversity they have never given up on their faith and have emerged victorious.
I am, in no way, advocating failure. Every attempt should be made with a view to succeed. However, at the same time, if you do lose some fights, you should not run away from the battle. Many a times you lose because your good wasn’t good enough, many a times you lose because you put your faith in the wrong factors, many a times you lose because your heart wasn’t in what you were doing. No matter what the reason be, failure should always be viewed as stepping stones to success, as an integral part of the learning process, an essential part of life.
The real implication of failure is very beautifully captured by the words of the ace basketball player and an active entrepreneur, Michael Jordan, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Failure is not losing a fight, failure is the loss of the will to fight. Falling down only strengthens you more and teaches you lessons in faith and optimism. Concluding with the words of Confucius, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail."
Vote for me now! Blogomania 2012 presented by watchkart.com - India's leading online store to buy watches at best prices.
It is all too well to succeed in everything one has ever attempted; all too well to never have to see the ugly face of failure, but those who have encountered failure from a close proximity know that it isn’t as bad as it is made to be believed.
For one, it is only after you have failed, and failed big for that matter, that you find closure. If you failed at something you loved, you would realize how much it meant to you, and would get back at it with much more vigor and zeal. On the other hand, if you failed at something that did not have your heart, the failure would only encourage you to take a different course of action, most probably the one that takes you to your dreams. As Henry Ford had quoted, “Failure is the only opportunity to begin again, this time more wisely.”
Secondly, failure also tests you in the most basic way. It puts a road block in your journey and you are forced to find a way to remove it and continue walking towards your destination. Imagine a place that has the most breath taking view on earth and there are two routes to it. One is a motorable road and you will be given a vehicle to reach the destination; the other is a trek route with boulders and waterfalls and you will have to hike through the unchartered terrain to reach the spot. Sure the sensible choice would be the former option, but if you are made to take the road laced with hardships, you would get to see and learn so much more on your way to the destination. You will learn to analyze what went wrong and try new and improved methods to succeed, which in itself would be an achievement. You will learn your strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly your true passions and dreams.
Failure also teaches you to be a better human being. As Sir Winston Churchill once quoted, “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” It takes a lot of courage to pick up the pieces after a failure, and be optimistic that life will turn around. It takes a lot of will power to either restore or make something totally new of what the rest think is broken beyond repair. It takes a lot of character to listen to the sneers and comment of your worthlessness and failure at achieving what everyone else conquered, and yet wake up each morning with the conviction that all is not lost and that you will find a way to fix things, no matter how many times you fall down. It takes a lot of strength to believe that just because you fell down once, twice or maybe even more does not mean that is where you belong and to trust in your abilities to make it big someday. In a nutshell, failure imbibes self conviction, optimism, determination and strength of character.
Someone who has encountered enormous failure and come out of it with flying colors has the ability to turn any situation in his favor. History is a testament to the fact that every great leader and every eminent personality of the past had, at one point or the other, encountered failure and had emerged from it as a winner. Be it Spartacus, Thomas Alva Edison, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, the common link between all of them is that in the face of adversity they have never given up on their faith and have emerged victorious.
I am, in no way, advocating failure. Every attempt should be made with a view to succeed. However, at the same time, if you do lose some fights, you should not run away from the battle. Many a times you lose because your good wasn’t good enough, many a times you lose because you put your faith in the wrong factors, many a times you lose because your heart wasn’t in what you were doing. No matter what the reason be, failure should always be viewed as stepping stones to success, as an integral part of the learning process, an essential part of life.
The real implication of failure is very beautifully captured by the words of the ace basketball player and an active entrepreneur, Michael Jordan, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Failure is not losing a fight, failure is the loss of the will to fight. Falling down only strengthens you more and teaches you lessons in faith and optimism. Concluding with the words of Confucius, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail."
Vote for me now! Blogomania 2012 presented by watchkart.com - India's leading online store to buy watches at best prices.
Now, when I'm a regular reader of your posts,words don't seem to suffice for your recent one.I'm all praise for it.This post carries stuff that I can relate to at lengths.Sometimes the idea of caving hits me badly but now I have got something to refer to when the same strikes again.Thank you,already.:-)
ReplyDeleteyou are wise beyond your peers
ReplyDeleteyou are wise beyond your ears
sometimes crying makes tears
your brain is between your ears? :)