Failure is the Secret of Your Success

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career; I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over in my life. And that's why I succeed." -Michael Jordan

Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure… it just means you haven’t succeeded yet. ~Robert Schuller

You might have read “The King and Spider story” in your childhood. The King Robert Bruce, newly crowned king of Scotland, sat shivering and hungry in a tiny hut on an Irish island in 1306. King Edward I of England, who had decided that he could rule Scotland very well himself had beaten Bruce and his men in six battles and finally driven them out of their own country.

He thought that if there ever was a time to give up then that was it, though he bitterly as he gnawed on a turnip he managed to find that day. His men had been scattered in the latest battle, and his only companion was a small spider, busily at work on her web in a corner of the hut.

He watched as she struggled to attach one of her strands to a wooden rafter. Again and again, a blustery wind would sneak through the cracks of the hut and shake the thread loose. Again and again, she would begin the task of attaching it once more.

Robert Bruce

After trying six times on seventh try she make it happens. Robert Bruce was inspired with her efforts that he returned back to Scotland and began the task of gathering his men. Finally, in 1314, he led his forces against the English at Bannockburn. The Scots were badly outnumbered, but because of their strong determination and cunning strategy they were able to overcome the English & finally succeeded. It was just one passion in mind "If at first you don't succeed, try try again."

In today’s life we have more current examples, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Micheal Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, Nelson Mandela, Imran Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi and many others.

 We all experience it. Most of us see failure as a negative thing, which makes sense; it doesn't feel good to fail. We all want to succeed and failure feels like a setback to that goal. What we don’t realize is that failure presents an opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.

How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure and Get Results Faster

1. Worst Case Scenario

 

Always ask yourself what is the worst that can happen if you fail.

For example: Whenever I get any task from my manager ,I just think what if I didn’t completed it on given time.

I think of the worst result of not doing this & eventually finish on not getting a good performance appraisal that current year. So what’s the big deal, will get a good one next year.

 This is taking calculated risk.

2. Ask Yourself This Question – Will I Die?

If you don’t die, you have no problem.

Seriously this is one of the best ideas that I ever got. I forgot whom I got this idea from but I would like to thank that person for sharing this idea.

There really isn’t any problem if you won’t die if you fail. If you fail in your business, you won’t die. Yes, you may lose money but you can earn it back. All you need to do is to get up and try again. If you fail to get win the girl you love, it doesn’t mean that you will die from it. It sucks and you may be depressed for a while but you can always try again another time. Life keeps moving forward and you will be stuck in the same place if you allow your fear of failure to stop you from taking any action.

3. Think of Failure as Feedback

There is no failure except in no longer trying. ~Elbert Hubbard

Don’t think about failing at all. Failing is an event and it is a form of feedback. If you fail to convert an opportunity into a reality, it does not mean that you had failed. It simply means that you do are not using the correct triggers (process) to close the deal.

All you need to do is to accept the feedback, learn from it and try again another time. The key is to learn from your feedback and keep trying.

Let me end this post with a quote from Samuel Beckett and I hope this quote will inspire you and let you look at your fear of failure in another light.

Try again. Fail again. Fail better.  ~Samuel Beckett