10 Reasons Why Failure Teaches Us More Than Success It teaches us the value of everything
By Amishi Mehta •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Why should we go through failures? Just seems unfair, doesn't it? Imagine a world, with free food, stay, and no work, no hurt or hatred. What do you think would happen? Given our nature we would take it for granted. We would never respect anyone and result would be; we would be unhealthy couch potatoes and be living under the delusion that we are superior beings.
Reality check: When we have never failed at anything, we feel invincible. Failure gives us a reality check; much like storms, earthquakes and tsunamis, which remind us, we do not have control over everything.
Teaches us the value of everything: After having lost a loved one, we value them more and realize how much they meant to us and did for us. We value people, money, home, and relationships only after we have lost them.
Teaches us how to survive: Remember the first day, you were taught to swim. Your coach pushed you into the water, and you started to franticly move your hands and legs to survive, not knowing all along you could have just stood up in shallow water and that you could never drown. Unless we are put in the deep end, we don't know that we can survive.
Learn from our Mistakes: When we learnt riding a bike and we were told again and again not to speed, we sped anyway. Until, we fall and hurt ourselves, is when we understand why our parents told us not too. In life, until we make mistakes ourselves, we never learn.
Is a New Opportunity: Like the saying goes "every cloud has a silver lining'. When we fail, we also have an opportunity to start afresh. We don't necessarily see what is good about failure immediately, but that it gives us an opportunity to hit the restart button and think about new possibilities.
Courage: It takes a lot to deal with failure and to get back up. Failure, teaches us to be courageous. When you have nothing more to loose, you have a lot to gain.
A quote from "Rocky Balboa' that always inspires; "Our greatest glory is not in falling, but in rising every time we fall'
- We find our inner strength: Sometimes when you feel like giving up, when nothing seems to work you. You have to dig deep, find that inner strength to keep pushing forward. It gets you through the worst of times.
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain." - Vivian Greene
- Cultivate a Positive Attitude: When you have a set back either you drown yourself by choosing to be negative or inculcate a positive attitude.
As Katrina Kaif an Indian actress mentioned - "I have a very positive attitude in life. My insecurity, fear and need to know about tomorrow have fortunately eased. What is going to happen will happen anyway. So why break my head over it?
- Keep yourself Motivated: As hard as it might be, keep yourself motivated. Surround yourself with people that motivate you. Listen to or read motivational speeches, quotes, videos, and audio whatever you like. It's k to have a bit of ice cream or your favorite dessert or snack every once in a while, a little pick me up. Don't stop trying.
As Rabindranath Tagore once said - "You can't cross the sea, merely by standing and staring at the water'
- Be Fearless: Don't be afraid to fail. When you embrace failure you are on the path to success.
Like Elon Musk said- "Failure is not an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough'
Lastly, find a mentor, a life coach to motivate you to be better than you can ever be. Learn and be inspired by the successful failures of your idols and keep trying harder, don't give up.
