Failing Forward

We all fear failing. Whether it's failing the exams, your driving license exam, an important project, or whatever, we just don't like failing. The dissatisfaction, the guilt, the agony - it does much to drive us up the wall. And then some.

But bear in mind, FAILURE is actually CRITICAL to success. RJ once quoted, "I make as many mistakes as possible so I can learn the right answer." It's not necessary for you to follow in his footsteps, but it's important we remember that failure can actually help us achieve the goals we have set. How?

Easy, really. You learn from your mistakes. It's somewhat like RJ's words above, that he makes many mistakes to learn the right way. Like I said you don't have to keep getting it wrong so you know what's right. As long as you gain something valuable from the mistake made, then that counts. And yes, sometimes there will be times we repeat the mistake, but I believe it's less frequent compared to before you started learning from your mistakes.

If you fall off the beaten path, you always pick yourself up to move on. It's easy as counting from 1 to 10. In a baseball analogy, you must always step back up to the plate even after you strike out. You need to tell yourself that you can do it, rather than convince yourself that when it's over, it's over. The more you're inclined to say "I give up", the higher your chances of failing even more than usual.

And don't think you can cover up for your wrongdoings. Too often we hit a 'bad shot' - that is, we make a mistake. So instead of admitting to it, we try and beat around the bush, and that's only a load of bullshit. What you're going to get in the end is trouble. So be a wise person and admit your mistake. Then once you've acknowledged it, you can start working through it and make things better. The question is: will you make your mistakes work FOR you or AGAINST you?

Tread lightly when it comes to this. People have fallen prey to pride and only end up suffering more than they should (like mentioned above), and I can tell you that it's not nice at all. Making your mistakes work FOR you is not easy, but making them work AGAINST you can happen in almost a split second. Follow through on your efforts and make sure what you're doing is indeed for the better and not otherwise. It's not always that you can get second chances. So when there is no room for error do your best!

Cheers for now.