The 3 Types of Failure
Why there’s no shame in failure, and why it can be a good thing
An entrepreneur once put up two graphs. The first is a graph that most people hear and believe how the journey to success is: a continuous, increasing line towards the end goal. The second graph is the reality that a majority of people go through: the ups and downs, successes and failures, upgrades and malfunctions. The entrepreneur said, “Each person will fail at some point in their projects, companies, or other endeavors. The difference is how people respond to that failure.”
Society has taught people that failure is bad. Failure has the stigma of incompetence or lack of ability. As mankind has evolved, so has the word failure. Failure has a spectrum, from “not even close” to catching a bad break. There are three kinds of failure:
- Failure based on incompetence
- Failure based on lack of effort
- Failure based on variables outside of your control.
There is a tremendous difference between each. After defining the three failures, we’ll examine how each one can be a good thing.
1. Failure Based on Incompetence
Everyone is familiar with this kind of failure. There will be times where you may bite off a piece too big to chew. Some of these failures can be damaging (sunk costs in the form of time or money) and others may be less painful (quantum physics as an elective course just isn’t for you). These failures can happen on a smaller and frequent scale, but it is something many people experience throughout his/her life.
2. Failure Based on Lack of Effort
You are competent in your task/goal, but your effort is neither enough, nor used effectively. My mother would say to me about getting good grades in school, “All that I ask is that you give your best effort. If that means it’s a B, then it’s okay. But if you don’t put in the time and don’t do the work required and then get a B, we’re going to have a talk.” When someone fails based on lack of effort, it’s hard to sympathize with their struggle since the ability is there. It could be a question of passion, or it could be based on context. As for effort not used effectively, this could be devoting too much time to unimportant details or misunderstanding the needs for your goal. It could require reaching out to someone and getting another perspective on how to tackle the goal, but there are also times where you may figure it out on your own.
3. Failure Based on Variables Outside your Control
This is the failure that is the most painful and eats you up inside. This can be where you do everything right, but luck may not have been on your side. It could be politics in the workplace, coaching staff, or other groups. It can also be that there’s tough competition, and some candidates may have stood out in smaller ways. By digging deeper, there are minor details that could have been missed. Overall, this type of failure requires mental strength to avoid one negative outcome from affecting future opportunities and continuing with your passion.
How is failure good for you?
For the first failure, it could be a simple way of telling you A) give yourself more time to know what you are doing or B) this may not be the Holy Grail of a project/goal that you originally thought it was. For the former, this is an evaluation of what your strengths and weaknesses are. For the latter, it’s a way of saying that this isn’t for me. Both are okay! Both are experiences that taught you something. The only way you can tell if you do not like to do something is through trial and error. My first internship required me to do basic accounting for a recreation center. My first day I did not know what I was doing. Lucky for me, my boss was nice and guided me through the process, but at the end of that summer I knew accounting was not my strong suit.
For the second failure, this may be a way of karma saying, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” This type of failure is loved by the hard workers whose work ethic was able to make up for being a lower candidate based on talent/ability alone. For the people that had talent but did not put forth the effort, there’s two outcomes: 1. They start sympathizing for their situation through a “woe is me” approach, or 2. They evaluate themselves and know they can improve with a change of attitude and effort. Obviously the first outcome means he/she didn’t learn much from the failure itself. The second outcome is seen in people that have fallen to this failure a handful of times. You should be embarrassed if you failed based on laziness. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to many people. Get your act together and try again.
For the third failure, this is learning how to react to adversity when things don’t go your way. If it’s a goal that means a lot to you, this failure should not push you away from it. To others, it says a lot about your character when you go for the same goal again. I once ran for a position in my college organization three times before I was elected. After failing to get elected the second time, I started asking myself, “Is it worth running for this position a third time? Do I want this for the right reasons?” Leading up to the third election, I thought of the little things that I could do that I didn’t do the previous two elections. And I practiced my speech more than any other presentation I delivered in my life. When I finished giving my speech on why I was the best candidate for the position, I had a different feeling. Not only was that the best speech I ever gave, but also I showed the passion behind the person that I am. I still had butterflies waiting for the outcome of the election, but I could only smile because I knew I put every bit of energy into the speech, the ideas for the position, and the qualities I possess to do a good job. I reached a point where I was happy with my performance, despite the outcome. When I was notified that I was elected, the feeling was indescribable. Failures make success feel that much better.
All failures require reflection and evaluation. It takes time, but so does the journey. The video “How Bad Do You Want It?” comes to mind. Many people do not see your journey, but the journey can be more of an accomplishment than the goal itself.
There is a saying in latin: “Succia Virescit” which means “when cut down, grow back stronger.” Most of the failures that we experience will provide us with tools for the future if we don’t choose to pursue them again (1st failures). 2nd failures and 3rd failures are ones that question our passion/desire for the end goal. Those failures test your limits and the potential you have to overcome adversity. The earlier in life that you may encounter failures, the easier it is to react and make the necessary changes down the road. The journey may be stressful and include blood, sweat, and tears, but it will be worth it every time.
-GCV
