Reading time: 4 minutes
Every person has face mistakes, errors, and misfortunes, but such occurrences don’t define you.
“Errors only become mistakes when you respond to them incorrectly. So also, mistakes become failures when you continue to respond to them incorrectly.”
It’s all in how you choose to look at it.
Either you consider your errors and mistakes as final, or you see it as a regular part of life, learn from them and move on.
Unfortunately, many people make mistakes and fall backwards, some fall to begin afresh while some others give up totally.
Those who give up and stop trying are those who become failures eventually, but as long as you keep trying, you are one step closer to your success.
One of the greatest mistakes people make is that they are quick to judge situations in their lives, and if such situations are not working out as they wish, they label them as failures.
Is this you?
If yes, then you need a change of perspective.
Great minds have a purpose, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes, but great minds rise above them. ~ Washington IrvingIt would help if you kept the bigger picture of what you want to achieve in mind. Doing this brings your goals to focus, you’re not focusing only on the mistakes you make but on what you want to achieve at the end.
What am I trying to say?
Changing your perspective about failure will help you persevere, and your perseverance will open up opportunities for success.
So how should you see it instead? Below are seven facts about that can change your perspective and ultimately help you achieve your desires.
1. Failure is not objective
The first perspective you need to have about failure is that it is not objective. You cannot define it through another person’s perspective; you must have your own definition of failure.
Take a moment to reflect on that; how have you been defining failure?
Remember, it is subjective, “You are the only person who can label what you do as a failure.”
It all depends on your perspective, how you choose to see it. Your perception and response to the mistakes you make will determine if your actions are failures or not.
2. Failure is not avoidable
“We are all failures – at least the best of us are.” – J.M. Barrie
If you’re a human being, you’re going to make mistakes. There’s no way around it.
According to the famous saying “To err is human, to forgive is divine” anyone can actually fail, make mistakes and err at any time.
So, failure is not avoidable, unless you’re not ready to learn and move forward. You must expect to fail, that’s the only way to be the best at what you do.
3. Failure is not a one-time event
You know this, I know this, it does not just happen accidentally; it’s not a one time event but a process.
The same way it takes a process before arriving at success the same is true of the path to failures.
If you fail, it only means you probably neglected details of your process or journey, but that is still left to you because only you can label a result as a failure no other person can do that for you.
It all depends on how you choose to deal with situations along the way; many will fail and label it final, they forget it’s only a process and that as long as they are still breathing they have another chance to try again.
Until your last breath, you’re still in the process of working things out.
Mat Pelletier in his book Embracing Failure: Harness the Power of Fear says:
It’s normal to fear failure, but the biggest mistake you can make in business and in life is to be scared and do nothing about it…..When you learn to capitalize on your failures, your mindset shifts and the possibilities emerge like the sun rising through a fog.
4. Failure is not the enemy
“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” -Kobe Bryant
We all try to avoid failure like it’s an enemy, while in the real sense, it is the only way we can grow and improve in whatever we do.
We are often too scared to fail or take risks, but how would you know what lies on the other side if you’re too frightened to take a look?
If you study the most successful people, you’ll see that they made mistakes and not just once, but they never gave up until they achieved their goals. No wonder we all look up to be like them.
Keep this in mind, “The fellow who never makes mistakes take orders from one who does.”
5. Failure is not reversible
Failure is not reversible, yet it is not final, you get the chance to try again as long as there is life.
What is done is done, true!
But how you respond to it matters too.
When you make mistakes, they are irreversible, but that’s not even a problem. The problem arises only when you focus on the mistakes you’ve made instead of focusing on the bigger picture and learn from your mistakes to try again.
6. Failure is not a stigma
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – Henry Ford
As long as you keep seeing failure as a stigma, you’ll find it hard to grow and move forward.
Remember, failure is subjective to whatever definition you give to it.
See failure as a step to your success and not a means to an end.
When you make mistakes, don’t let them get you down, instead see them as stepping stones to your achievements in life.
7. Failure is not final
The terrible truth here is that all roads to achievement lead through the land of failure.
When you reach your own land of failure, it doesn’t mean that’s your final destination; you must strive to make it through and get to the other side.
Guess what?
Anyone can make it through failure!
Yes, even me and you!
The process will never get comfortable, each of us has to choose to either sleep life away in our comfort zones avoiding failure or wake up to realize that failure is a price we must pay to achieve success.
Cephas Tope
Latest posts by Cephas Tope (see all)
- 7 Keys To Developing Good Relationships - March 30, 2020
- How to Overcome Jealousy in 4 Easy Steps - March 15, 2020
- These 7 Facts Will Change How You See Failure Forever - February 20, 2020
