How To Deal With Failure
Giving up is never an option if you’re serious about your goals
You failed.
You couldn’t clear that exam, get your dream job, goofed up your presentation, failed to qualify for a sporting event, couldn’t close the deal, lost a precious client, messed up a relationship, or made a bad financial decision.
Ouch! That hurts.
Failure stings even more when the stakes are high, and you’ve put in your all.
It hits you hard and chips away at your confidence so much that you begin to doubt your abilities and question yourself, “Do I have it in me at all?”
But not making it isn’t reason enough to quit.
Failure is what it is
You failed, and there’s a reason for it.
Maybe you weren’t fully prepared, you didn’t properly plan, you didn’t know how to go about doing it, you became nervous, others were better than you, you didn’t try hard.
Failure only means you are not at par. You need to work on yourself, learn from your mistakes, and prepare better.
At no point does failure mean you’re not enough, you can never succeed, pack up and go home.
How to handle it all
You feel dejected, defeated, and demotivated. It’s understandable. Anyone in your place would feel the same.
Don’t deny your feelings. Don’t brush them under the carpet or look the other way.
Feel what you’re feeling. Cry your heart out if you must. Crib, complain, vent, rant. Do whatever you want to do.
But once you’re done, be done with it. No looking back, no wallowing in self-pity, no asking, ‘Why me.’
Face the truth.
You have failed.
Own it.
Get going again
If you’re passionate about your goals and they mean the world to you, pull yourself together by all means.
Failure has only knocked you down. You aren’t defeated.
You can be everything else, but you’re not a loser.
It’s not over till you declare it’s over.
The game’s still on. As Denis Waitley said, “Failure is a temporary detour, not a dead end.”
Keep your eyes fixed on your goals and bounce back on your feet. Dust yourself off and get going again.
Revisit the failure and dissect it. Figure out what happened and why. Look for the mistakes and slip-ups. Identify the gaps.
Learn the lessons, go to the drawing board, and make the changes.
Start afresh with better planning and preparation, greater enthusiasm, and motivation.
Key Message: Failure may be inevitable, but it doesn’t have to discourage you. Learn from it, move forward, and continue your journey.
