What do you mean by the term FAILURE? A lot of us have different perceptions toward this term.
Failure is defined as “an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success:”
We have been introduced to this term since our schooling years, if a child didn’t perform well in class , didn’t get good grades , they were considered a failure and nothing much would be expected out of them .
Report cards/mark-sheets had previously labelled “FAILED” if a child didn’t do well in their examination. Imagine the mental stress and damage it brought to ones self esteem.
Thankfully CBSE changed the term from “failed” to “essential repeat” seeing the amount of increased suicide rates this term had caused. Same goes for people working as an entrepreneur , in a corporate job or in any other field.
Why do we let setbacks define us as failures, why do we still not see failures as an essential part of our growth?
There are people who work so hard towards something they are so passionate about, but they get so discouraged after a failure that they pack their bags and give up!
Which brings me to the question:
WHAT DOES FAILURE REALLY MEAN?
When is an individual considered a failure in life?
I feel the answer doesn’t lie in the person’s competency or ability , but instead in their will.
Failure is inevitable in a person’s life. In-fact its necessary and incumbent to a person’s journey .
But when the person gives up/quits in something he/she is really striving towards and doesn’t have a bit of will to go against the odds , to achieve his/her goal .
I think that’s when the person is deemed a failure.
We live in a society where a person’s achievements , success and smartness is highlighted rather than what he/she did to achieve to the point where the person is at.
Our society hasn’t really taught us how to embrace failures , people still observe its as concept which reflects the individuals incompetency.
When in reality its a phenomenon needed for growth! And is an inevitable lesson needed to make one successful.
MISCONCEPTIONS TOWARDS FAILURE
I feel the biggest misconception people have towards failure is that its the end of their journey / their boat has sunk and there’s no way out .
I feel its so wrong to have such a fixed mindset because you are limiting yourself from something that could be a huge breakthrough but just because of a setback, you throw away all your efforts you have been building.
Failures can be really tough, you might find yourself at a dead end , where you feel there’s no progress. But in fact ,If you are not encountering continuous failures it means you are not growing .
You are facing challenges to equip you to respond to the situations in a more primed manner.
HOW TO RESPOND TO FAILURES?
1. FOCUS ON THE PROCESS NOT THE OUTCOME :
Most of us lay so much prominence of the results of our efforts rather than the process , when actually the focus should be the other way round.
Because when an individual does any task keeping only the end goal in mind rather than actually enjoying the process, they are likely to give up or lose motivation to continue the activity when they encounter a failure or a setback.
Instead shift your mindset in the actual process, learning discovering and mastering the skills required to reach your goal.
The results would speak for itself.
Once you fix your focus on the process or the journey you will begin to appreciate the teachings you get through the process and you’d be unattached to a specific outcome, means , you won’t be needy, or get upset when things don’t go as you had hoped.
2. LEARN TO EMBRACE FAILURES:
As I said , regardless of your personal or professional life, you will encounter failures but how you deal with them plays a huge role in your results .
Instead of fearing it and running away from it in order to avoid it, learn to accept it as a part of your journey and figure out strategies on how to protect your emotional and mental state when such a situation occurs.
You can find ways to motivate yourself , take a break ,talk to someone and get over it!
Make sure you get back on track and focus on your goals once you feel better and not let that setback stray you away!
3. LEARN FROM THEM ! :
Failures can be the biggest teachers in life. You can either listen to what it says or be completely oblivious to it, the approach is yours .
It would be rather a wise decision to actually understanding it.
Ask various questions like , why it occurred? , What did I learn from it?, Where did I go wrong? What can be my approach the next time such a situation occurs ? How to avoid it in the future? etc .
If you take risks in any decision making process , failure is something you should be accustomed to , with risk comes failure . And before success comes failure .
You may find yourself encountering failures even after success! Its an endless cycle which is why you should celebrate failures as much as success.
The most successful people out there have known failures at a personal level. They have faced it repeatedly but they didn’t throw in the towel and give up and that’s what made them successful.
All in all , its definitely not easy when we encounter any sort of failure in life, it seems there’s no meaning to all our efforts .
But what sets an individual apart from the rest is his/her will to strive forward despite the obstacles . Celebrate every breakdown because it means that you’re closer to a breakthrough.
