Why embracing failure is crucial

When times are at their most uncertain, when you have thrown everything at the wall and nothing has stuck, it's an opportunity more than a full stop. We often look the other way when faced with a path filled with failure. Out of fear, we stop ourselves from ever progressing beyond the ordinary, beyond the bubble we feel comfortable in.

I, along with a plethora of others, wholeheartedly believe that that notion is destructive. If we had more people chasing failure, the whole of society would be better off. To become more comfortable with failure in your own life, you first need awareness of what failure truly is and what benefits failure can bring. So today, I'm going to talk about this topic. There will be a lot I don't cover in this blog post, as this idea is a massive one, but I think we can make a great dent. Then maybe I will write a part two when more inspiration comes my way.

Failure isn't the end, it's the reveal of future options

When we fail, often our minds drift to the conclusion that "this is the end, I gave it my best but that clearly wasn't enough." This is a natural train of thought, as failure can protect us. It can protect us from that which will only end up harmful in the long run, or harmful to others. Where it gets tricky, however, is when to accept the thought that it's for our greater protection, or just "protection" of the ego. Often standing next to failure are embarrassment, shame, guilt, and envy. These emotions are not fun, I know that personally, as we all do. Given this fact, when we find out that failure might be in front of us if we continue to move down a particular path, it can be easy to give up. To avoid the failure, and the troubling emotions that come with it.

I would say it's best to ignore that feeling 99% of the time. There are instances where you should no longer pursue the path you were headed, but I believe that more often than not, we trick ourselves into believing every failure in front of us is inherently bad or destructive.

To fail, is to grow

When failure is imminent or upon us, we often believe that it's a "setback," and while that may be true in a sense, I believe you need to change the mental framework you currently have, from it being a "setback" to a lesson, to growth.

You can either try to find the lesson from this failure, or you will be eaten by it. If you've read this far, I can safely assume that you don't want your failures to overcome you any longer, that's amazing. Pat yourself on the back for getting this far and having the awareness to try to actually change your thought process around failure.

Next time you fail, ask yourself these questions:

• Where did I go wrong? (make sure you trace the problem back as far as you can, to try and figure out the exact moment things went awry)

• What have I learnt from this failure?

• What can I do in the future to mitigate this ever happening again?

• When will I enact change in this area?

• If you have fear about failing again, ask yourself: What am I afraid of, what can actually happen to me if I don't learn from this problem?

Now you have a clear vision of what went wrong, what you learned, what will happen if you don't change, and what your mental framework is around this problem. You are now in the spot to do something about it and move forward with clarity and precision.

To fail, is to know yourself better

Failure can feel like you've hit rock bottom; it can feel hopeless. Take this feeling and analyze it. Use it as a tool for your own betterment; your ability to reflect on failure is the key to your success.

When you analyze what went wrong and how it's made you feel and act, you can learn a very important lesson. The lesson is emotional regulation.

To regulate your emotions, you must first be aware of what triggers you have. Failure is a great way to expose yourself to these triggers; however, only if you pay attention during and after the failure falls upon you.

Conclusion

Everyone who has ever made it has failed, and if you think you can avoid it, good luck. I think after reading this, though, you understand that failure is a part of the process, and it can actually be a good thing if dealt with properly.

If you start analysing the situation and taking conscious action when faced with failure, you will be on TheWritePath.