Most of us have failed at something. Actually, most of us have probably failed at many things. From a young age, we’re taught to try as hard as we can to obtain our goals. We grow up playing sports, competing in science fairs, and learning things like how to ride a bike. Failing at those things was, generally, inconsequential.
As adults, we set out to accomplish goals like graduating from college, starting a business, or raising a family. Failing at achieving these goals could prove to be much more consequential. As a result, failing can be a devastating experience that causes us to develop all types of negative emotions, leading to fear and anxiety of ever experiencing that devastation again.
But we have the wrong idea about failure. We should look at it in a much more positive light, and we should be proud of each time we’ve tried and failed because the alternative is not trying at all.
To help you restructure the way you think of failure, let’s look at 5 common myths about failure that you should never believe.
Myth #1: Failure is Final
Many people think that once they fail at something, they should give up and never try to accomplish it again. In reality, failing just teaches you what you shouldn’t do the next time you attempt to accomplish that goal. Failing does not mean you should give up on your dream.
Learn from the actions you took that lead to failure and try again. This time, adjust your actions so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes you made before. If you fail again, try again. Each time, modify your technique so that you do more of what worked and less of what didn’t.
Myth #2: Failure means you’re not good enough.
Everyone fails. Every. Single. Person on earth has or will have failed at one point or another. Your failures don’t make you any less talented, or smart or capable of achieving whatever it is you want to achieve.
I believe that failing actually makes you smarter, more talented and more capable. The old adage, practice makes perfect, is very true and you should look at your failed attempts as the practice that will get you to the goal you’re trying to reach.
Myth #3: Success is impossible once you’ve failed.
Success is only impossible if you never try or if you give up. With every failure, you should be learning something about the process you’ve undertaken. Failure makes you one step further along in that process and now you know what doesn’t work and you’ve probably learned some things that do work.
Very little success happens without some form of failure along the way. As long as you learn from your failures and keep trying to reach your goals, you’ll succeed — it’s just a matter of time.
Myth #4: Successful people never fail.
Remember the story of The Billionaire Who Failed 5,126 Times? It’s about James Dyson, the billionaire inventor and founder of the Dyson vacuum cleaner company. He tried and failed to build a prototype for his vacuum cleaner 5,126 times. It was on the 5,127th time that he actually succeeded in building the vacuum cleaner he had designed.
Successful people fail all the time. Major brands and even millionaire and billionaire owners sometimes have to throw in the towel on some of their endeavors. Most successful people will encourage you to fail often in order to reach success.
Myth #5: You should be ashamed of failing.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with failing and you shouldn’t be ashamed of your failures. In fact, there’s much more reason to be proud of yourself than there is to be ashamed of yourself. If you’ve failed at something, you had to be courageous enough to try in the first place. That is something to be proud of considering the fact that most people are too afraid to ever try in the first place.
Don’t be afraid to fail.
Failure is a necessary stop on the road to success. It makes us resilient and wise, and it serves as preparation for that big opportunity that will someday come our way. I agree that, most of the time, it’s a bummer to fail, but taking yourself out of the game or never trying at all is much worse.
Don’t look at failure as the death of your dream. Instead, think of it as another step forward in the right direction — a rebirth of your dream. Each time you fail, grow in confidence that you are closer to reaching your goal and use your failure to fuel your next attempt.
Failure is for the brave, and not everyone can handle it. It’s the first and last step on your journey to success, so don’t run from it. Before long, you’ll see that avoiding failure is avoiding success.