For many, failure is the end. For the few, failure is just the beginning of something great. The people who achieve the highest levels of success reach that level by never accepting failure as an outcome and rather treating it as a stepping stone along the journey. I know that personally if I had stopped after the first time I failed I may still be in college taking the easy route to work an unfulfilling and mediocre job I never wanted in the first place. The paths least traveled often lead to the greatest success, but also require the strongest wills.
The weekend warrior mentality
So many people have a “weekend warrior” mentality. They try something for a week and when they fail they give up and move on to something else, most of the time blaming whatever it is they tried to do for not working rather than reflecting and bettering themselves. For example, during 2020’s Covid lockdown, I decided to experiment with stock options. I tried to make a quick buck and when I was hit with my first loss I gave up completely and moved on to the next thing I was told could make me rich quick. This is a terrible mindset to have when trying to accomplish something that will present obstacles and potential failures along the way. If I had taken this attitude into the next things I have done, I would have never followed through with anything! The truth is it doesn’t really matter so much what you choose, it’s that you stick with it through thick and thin. Eventually, you will succeed. It may not happen as quick as you would have liked but that is just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Nobody gets rich by luck or by accident. They do so by consistently doing one thing through failure after failure until they finally reach success. It’s not the sexiest formula, but it’s the one that has led to the most wealth being made by far! Drop the weekend warrior mentality and commit to one thing for the long run.
Without failure, there is no success
Failure is an opportunity for you to learn and grow. Many people view it as the end of the road which is detrimental to their ability to find success at anything meaningful. I personally have failed more times than I can count. From losing deals I thought I had under wraps, to launching Amazon products that have failed, in my short time on this planet I have tried and failed at more things than most people have ever even attempted. The mindset I carried with my failures at first was that I needed to try something new, however, I have since been able to uncover lessons and develop extreme personal growth through each one of these experiences. The harder the failure was, the more I had to dig down and learn a little more about myself and what I’m really capable of when I put my mind to something. When you have that bug inside you that won’t accept failure as a final result, you know that you are destined for greatness. You need to understand the bigger picture of things and not just see what is right in front of you at every moment. If you do this and failure is ahead, you will feel hopeless, lost, and tired. All of these things are killers of success and drive and are like anchors. Once these feelings become present in you, they will weigh you down as you quickly sink to the bottom. With failure and obstacles comes personal development and the ability to analyze your skills and abilities. Failure allows you to improve and be even better than you were before. Without failure, there is no success.
Reflecting rather than deflecting
When people fail, the first thing they do is deflect the blame of that failure onto something else. People naturally don’t like it when their egos are bruised, and in turn often refuse to take any responsibility for failure. This completely eliminates one’s ability to reflect and grow from failure, and rather causes them to wallow in it. The greatest part of failure is the reflection you get to have with yourself after it is over. This is the “School of Hard Knocks” approach to life and it is the most difficult, but most efficient way to mold yourself into a successful, smart, and adaptable person. When people value their pride and ego over the valuable lessons they could be learning, they are destined to remain stagnant and mediocre for the remainder of their lives. Embrace failure for the lessons it can provide to you, and always choose reflection over deflection. This is the way to make sure failure is never permanent and success is always imminent. Reflection causes failure to be temporary while deflection makes it permanent.