What comes to mind when you hear the word failure? You most likely think of something negative like not reaching a goal, failing a test, or maybe even you’re a loser, etc…. We are taught in our society that failure is negative and it’s not acceptable. I am here to tell you it is acceptable and it’s a positive thing. It’s your choice in how you view it.
Whenever we fail, we are trying to accomplish something. It can be from taking a test, losing weight, running a marathon, or even losing a relationship. It’s normal to get upset when we don’t get the result we wanted. The problem is when we ruminate on what we’ve lost or didn’t accomplish. When we do this, we are thinking of something in the past and wishing it was different. It’s in the past and therefore cannot be changed. (Unless I create a time -LOL- Just Kidding) This is when failure is negative!
When we fail at something, we have the opportunity to look back and learn from our mistakes, so next time we are faced with a similar challenge or working toward a new goal, we can make wiser choices to achieve our desired result. You may fail again and that’s ok. You just repeat the process and continue to learn from your failures. This is how we learn, grow, and evolve as human beings. This is how you turn failures into positives.
Failure can also get you down and make you feel hopeless. If this happens, I encourage and challenge you to look at life as opportunity. Failure happens to teach lessons so when the next opportunity comes along; you are better prepared to achieve it. This changes hopelessness into hope and is another positive way of thinking. There is positive in everything… sometimes it’s just hard to find.
“Failures are building blocks to learn, grow, and evolve as human beings” Chris Chouteau
Now let’s use an example: Let’s say you set a goal to lose 10 pounds in the next two month. When the two months is up, you only lost 4 pounds. You failed at reaching your goal. This part is a fact. You now have the choice to get down on yourself because you didn’t reach your goal or you can look on the situation and see what you can learn from it. Ask yourself: What could I have done different so I could have reached my goal? Then set a new goal, use your newly gained positive knowledge, and get back to work. This is how you learn from a failure and turn it into a positive experience!
We always have the choice of how we view things in our lives. Things can be looked at positively or negatively. It’s our choice! When you fail, find the positive by learning from it! This is how we grow and this is how we succeed in reaching our goals. Always remember it’s your choice!