Failing is a Good Thing - How to Succeed Through Failure

Why is Failure Good?

One great example of success through failure is Thomas Edison, who developed a successful light bulb prototype after failing 1,000 times. When asked, ‘How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?’ He Replied, ‘I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.’

Most people avoid the possibility of failure. Basically, they usually put their focus in refraining themselves from committing mistakes rather than aiming for success, leaving themselves content with what is inadequate. When they commit mistakes, they usually lean on it to help themselves learn what should have been rightfully done in order to live a better life.

During the press conference for the mission of bringing back Apollo 13 back to earth, NASA flight controller Jerry C. Bostick once stated, “Failure is not an option.” This statement has been instilled to minds of many.

In our success-driven society humans thrive on rewards - we don’t see failure as a neccessity, but rather as a deficiency. This is the wrong mindset.

Listen to the Past Proponents of Failure

When we draw back to our history, even the great minds of the past have the readiness to accept failure in the things they partake. Darwin, Freud and Augustine, business tycoons, even sports icons of today, they have all used failure as a key to boost themselves in their journey to achieving greater heights.

To maximize your capability, to soar greater heights, to do what is impossible, and never fear failure, you must be able to think outside the box, and you have to motivate yourself to go outside of your comfort zone.

Look into the mindset of pioneers, explorers, inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs; they all have the same mentality about failure. Failure for them is inevitable but it should be something to motivate you to achieve greater heights rather than a means of depression that can pull you down.

Achieving this mindset does not literally mean that you must undergo the extreme of all extreme adversities in life. The greater the success the greater the risks should be taken. Same applies in starting up a business or even for personal issues such as investing emotions for a person.

How to Fail Successfully

Observe and analyze the failures that people had in the past. Learn to appreciate yourself for all the efforts you had and see to it that everyone else involved should think likewise, that it is normal to fail.

If I continuously lack the effort and guts to take risks in the job I thrive in, complacency can set in and cause true failure.

Don’t be content with your comfort zone - figure out what should be improved and work on it. Appreciate what you’ve accomplished and then move on. Keep moving forward, learning from every failure you make - failure is simply education, and the more you realize that, the more success you will see.