Want to know how to deal with failure? Then you’re in the right place.
Dealing with failure. This is one of the best things you can learn to do to have a successful life. It doesn’t matter if it it’s failure on relationship, finance or any other aspect of your life. Everyone almost always gets a second chance. That’s the great thing about failing. Usually, it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world.
Sure, some failure may literally be life and death situation. Imagine having to captain the biggest plane in the world. One mistakes and you could end up crashing. Those kinds of failures are rare though.
Usually, the failures we experience every day isn’t life threatening.
In this post, I will show you how you can successfully and maturely deal with failures. And then come back stronger and better than ever before.
How To Deal With Failure
1. Accept That It’s Part of the Process
If you’re still crying and complaining after every single failure you experience, then you will never be happy and successful. The truth is failure is part of the process.
You can’t skip failing your way into success. There will always be things that won’t go your way. There will always be problems that will arise over and over again. There will always be something that will stop you from achieving your goals.
But that’s the point of failure. It shouldn’t stop you from moving forward. The sooner you accept the fact that there are times that you’re going to fail, the better you will be able to handle the ups and downs. So stop complaining. Stop crying over every little thing. Then start accepting the fact. Failure is part of the process.
2. Some Failure Are Avoidable
Some failures are avoidable. You just have to evaluate things and make sure that you’re looking at your situation with an open mind.
Maybe you have an old school kind of thinking and every “new” tactics irritates you. Why not give it a try? May you’re not looking clearly at the numbers. Are you sure that you’re still making money with your every week sale in your store? Or is it really hurting your business?
Evaluate every possible thing that may affect the end result of your action. Sure, you can’t avoid every failure but you can deflect some through proper research. Always be on the look-out and never rest on your laurels, especially when everything is looking good!
Be extra careful when everything is feeling OK and pretty much everything you touch turns into gold. That’s when most people take a break and loses everything.
3. Mourn Your Failures
Yes, I said that you shouldn’t cry over and complain about your failures. It won’t really fix anything, does it? But in the beginning, when wounds are fresh and you are hurting, there’s nothing wrong with putting your head down and just crying over a failure.
It doesn’t mean that you’re giving up. It simply means that you are sad and frustrated. It simply means that something didn’t went right. But after the mourning phase (which shouldn’t take too long!), that’s when you start with the next step.
SEE ALSO: How To Not Care What Others Think About You: The Ultimate Guide
4. Analyze Your Failure & Learn the Lessons
The next step is all about analyzing your failure/s and learning the lessons from those failure/s. Take some time to think about what happened. Why did you lose $10,000? It’s not just about that one deal that you made. It’s about the other steps before it that leads you to the decision that then leads you to a failure.
So stop blaming just one thing not going your way. Start analyzing the things you you did well and the things that you didn’t do well. At the start of the 2013-2014 NBA Season, Greg Popovich, the legendary coach of San Antonio Spurs started their practice with a film session.
He let his team watch the whole game (where they lose to the Heat in last year’s Finals) and pin-point every single thing that they did wrong and what they can do better. Coach Pop didn’t blame the basketball Gods. He didn’t blame just one player. He didn’t blame a missed 3. It’s all about the things that’s in your own control.
We don’t have a tape of our lives but we can start writing our failures and our lessons on a simple piece of notebook. This can help us get better in the future. It may even be the key to success on a future unknown endeavor.
5. Find Opportunities (Failure is Feedback)
Failure is a feedback mechanism. If we’re failing, it simply means that what we’re doing is currently not working. It simply means that we probably should do something else. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results every time.
I know that this has been pretty much a cliché but is is actually true. So stop being insane. Stop doing something that clearly doesn’t work anymore. Start looking for opportunities to get better. Start learning from the failures.
Once you’ve written the things that you learned, it’s time to take action and do something about it. You have to keep testing and you will never grow. Trying things out will result into more failures but it’ll also give you bigger success.
Remember, failing 20 times doesn’t mean you have to win 20 times too. Sometimes, you can fail 20 times and only have to win once. Why? Because that one WIN can be so big that it pretty much offsets all your previous failures! Just continue learning and keep trying. Keep re-inventing yourself and keep moving forward even when the roads and the conditions are not on your way.
6. Perspective is Everything
The way you look at failures and problems can dictate the way you manage them. If you look at failures as literal problems that you have to deal with, then you may become miserable on your way to solving those problems. But if you look at failures as stepping stone for achieving your goals, then the game changes.
You start looking at it on a more positive manner. You start thinking about solutions not based on negative thinking but rather one on a positive vibe. What’s the different between these two? It the way you come up with possible solutions to your problems. If you’re thinking on a negative light, you may think some illegal solutions to your problems.
However, if you’re thinking of the failure as a stepping stone for something better, you may find a better solution. Something that won’t literally throw you in a jail cell. I know that this is a dramatic explanation but I have to make a point. You have to change your perspective and the way you look at your failures. Your failures are not just problems. They are the obstacle that you need to conquer in order to come out the other way a better person.
SEE ALSO: How To Deal With Loneliness: Actionable 15 Tips For Lonely People
7. Action Changes Everything
Perspective is everything but action is the one that changes everything. You can find all the solution that you want, but if you never take any action, then those solutions are useless. Don’t be afraid to fail again if you do something wrong. Look, your failures most probably won’t kill you. So you have to take action and do something that will get you closer to your goals.
Don’t be afraid in failing because the worst failure you could ever have is living with regrets. Take action today so you won’t have to live with regrets in the future. Trust me, that would be the worst failure you can ever feel.
8. Nobody Cares About Your Failures
Stop thinking about what other people think of you. Why? Because they’re never thinking about you in the first place. Most people are so concern with themselves that they just don’t have the time and energy to worry about your failures.
The only thing they care about is their own success and failures. Do you honestly think that every single person you met has the time to think about that time when you fail at that one business 5 years ago?
Then is it still bothering you? Why are you still so ashamed of that failure? Nobody freaking cares! This time, that’s actually a good thing!
9. It’s All About the Comeback
You know what people celebrates? The WINS. It’s all about trying your damn hardest to make it. It’s all about having the persistence to try and try again. As I’ve told you a while ago, you can fail 20 times and only have to succeed once. You can comeback from most failure you experience in life.
The only question left is “will you?” Will you take action every day? Will you learn from your failures? Will keep trying? Will you keep searching for answers? Will you?
Thank you for reading this article about how to deal with failure and I really hope that you take action my advice. I wish you good luck and I hope its contents have been a good help to you.
