When was the last time you failed?

I just came across the above image online and it made me think: Why don't our failures define us?

There's a tendency in our culture to only talk about our successes and the things we do right.

So when we do something wrong, or something doesn't work the way we planned, it's a whole lot easier to just sweep it under the rug and never talk about it again. We all want to be winners--and that's why we try to forget our failures and say that they do not define us.

But what if they do? What if our failures are one of the most important parts of who we are?

The fact is, if you pride yourself only on being a winner, you'll never embrace failure - and that means you'll never take a risk. And if you have no tolerance for risk, you'll never venture off the well-beaten path that everyone else takes. Which (of course) means you'll never have any amazing, improbably successes either!

Failure isn't something to be ashamed of. When we fail, it means we tried to do something that was too hard. It means we stretched our bodies and minds beyond their original dimensions.

We should actually be proud of our failures... especially as innovators.

The fact is, only boring, incremental innovation can happen without risk. And those who innovate in the smallest possible increments are swallowed alive by the people who throw their heart and soul into something that could fail miserably.

All new ideas that take the world by storm are risky. All paradigm-changing innovations happened because someone decided to face failure.

So, when was the last time you failed? And how are you risking failure right now? Can you answer those questions?

Comments

[Shaji.K]

hi kathy,
nice post. enabling us to view failure from a different perspective. if our failures were to define our life, it will be a whole world better for us.
thanks for the scintillating post. i'll rate it one of your best.

[Jane Winterhalt]

Hi Kathy,

It's my first time on your site. Your post grabbed my attention because failure has been such a dominant part of my life. But now I am sixty years old I see my life as a series of successes. Of course I struggled and failed courses and lost jobs but I learned along the way and was able to change my attitudes cut through the illusions and become a wiser mother and grandmother. I'm learning internet marketing now..ohhh...just another series of failures. If I've learned anything in my life, it is indurance! That's what makes me a winner! Thank you for your insite.
Jane Winterhalt on Facebook

[Conor Neill]

Jim Rohn has a famous quote "we each have the choice of one of two great pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret". Tom Peters says "the only source of good knowledge is bad experience". I have learnt far more from when things have not gone to plan than when everything has just worked out. I think about how to help my child develop a different attitude to failure - I think failure to try is absolute failure, failure to learn from our failures is stupidity - but nothing new or great will come without some accidents along the way. Keep blogging ;-)