How do you move on from a failure?
The most successful people in the world know that failure is just a part of the process. They have their own methods for getting over that failure, but one thing they’d all agree on is that failure is something to celebrate and move past, not fear.
Whatever your goals are, coming up with your own method to celebrate and then move on from a failure will be incredibly beneficial to your growth. You will probably fail a few times in your process of creating a failure process. That was a little confusing, but the truth is you will figure out how you respond best to failure through trial and error.
It’s not an easy thing to do. It requires some discipline and creative thinking to take your shortcomings and turn them into a positive. Acknowledging you failed, owning it, and moving on to your next goal are all necessary steps towards personal development in any area of life.
Acknowledging It
Sometimes, you have to throw in the towel. It’s not quitting, it’s realizing something isn’t working right. That’s called learning and it’s the most important part of failure. Think about how exciting it is to know that you won’t make the same mistakes you made again. That’s great news.
In order to grow, you have to realize when it’s time to take a step back and try something else. If you can’t break that mile time you been working towards, maybe take a look at your strength training or diet. Sometimes, you do need to change your goals around after you fail. However, oftentimes failure doesn’t mean you have to give up entirely. It could mean that you need to look at why you’re not reaching your goals. You can’t do that until you acknowledge that you’re doing something wrong.
Owning It
Nothing is worse than being embarrassed. Even if your failure wasn’t public, telling people about it can be a source of embarrassment. It can be hard to admit that you couldn’t get something right, but doing just that may actually make people more confident in you.
A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that people actually trust leaders more when they openly admit their failures and mistakes. People who don’t admit when they do something wrong are often seen as less competent, less caring, and less responsible.
You don’t have to feel bad when you talk about your failures. Own them. Talk about them with a sense of humor and humility. Make a mistake you made into a funny story. At the end of the day, people aren’t going to dwell on your past failures when you provide them with current successes.
Moving On
Moving on from something you’ve spent a lot of blood, sweat, and tears on can be difficult. When you had a goal you thought was great that’s not working out, you may be less than enthusiastic about moving onto the next goal. However, you can’t be afraid of failure. It’s what makes you grow. Where would you be if you didn’t fail? Nowhere. It’s impossible. Everybody fails sometimes.
Tinker with your approach to your goals. Maybe all you need to succeed is a small change in an area you hadn’t thought of yet. Maybe you do need to consider a new goal entirely. Figuring out the next step is part of the process that everybody goes through. Once you find it, you get another chance at success. That’s more than enough of a reason to celebrate your failure.
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