Failure is an orphan (II)

Last time we began looking at failure. We saw the fact that failure is an integral part of life. That failure must be seen in the right perspective. We also saw that we must identify and deal with the negative consequences that are associated with failure – anger, devastation, discouragement etc.

“There is no doubt in my mind that there are many ways to be a winner, but there is really only one way to be a loser and that is to fail and not look beyond the failure.” – Kyle Rote Jr

In successfully dealing with failure we must be careful not to make emotional decisions when we fail. Failure can make a big dent on our self esteem, it can make us feel small and we can emotionally decide never to try again. Failure can lure us to erroneously think “it’s over’. Also failure can provoke our pride and “push” us to emotionally want to prove a point by setting unrealistic targets and goals. Either way we shoot ourselves in the foot.  When we stumble and fail we must be sober and find time to assess what has happened – what led to the failure and what we can practically do to remedy the situation.

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We must see failure in the right light. Failure is not a person but an event. The fact that we have failed does not make us a failure. We must have a positive mindset else the motivation to pick up the pieces and move on will not be there. We can still succeed where we have failed. Countless people have failed and their persistence in not abandoning their dream earned them a place in history. One of the most common examples of pursuing a dream despite a series of failure is Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln has a prominent place in American history today but at the price of not giving in to defeat and failure. See his “resume”: 1831 – Failed in business; 1832 -Defeated in legislative election; 1833 – Another business failure; 1834 – Elected to the legislature; 1838 – Defeated for speaker; 1843 – Defeated for congress; 1846 – Elected for congress; 1848 – Defeated for congress; 1855 – Defeated for senate; 1856 – Defeated for vice-presidential nomination; 1858 – Defeated for the senate; 1859- Elected as America’s 16th president.

No matter how many times we have fallen we can still stand because defeat need not be final. Life is powered by hope. It is hope that will keep us holding on when we fail. It is hope that will make us see that a brighter future awaits us.

“No matter what mistakes you have made – no matter how you have messed things up – you can still make a new beginning. The person who fully realizes this suffers less from the shock and pain of failure and sooner gets off to a new beginning.”  Norman Vincent Peale

Things are made difficult for us because many so called successful people never tell us the route they took to end up in success. We only see them brandishing and enjoying the paraphernalia of success and in our bid to emulate them we get knocked down mercilessly by failure. If only men and women who have made a success of life can show us where they failed and how they overcame them, then people will learn valuable lessons in their journey to success.

CONCLUDED.