Learning To Fail

Today we want to share one of the principles that are often neglected when we are trying to pursue success and making our dreams come true. The principle is the understanding of failure is part of success.

We were reading a book, entitled 18 Minutes which was a gift from our sister. In one of the chapters, the author discussed an interesting topic which was ‘Learning to fail’. It was an interesting chapter and we want to share with you today.

The author described that one day after his workout at the local gym, his fitness coach asked to see him after his session ended. He was surprised as he had done all the routine without fail. Nevertheless he went to see his coach. He asked his coach, what’s the matter? I did everything in the routine and I managed to do it all. I did not fail in anything. He said that is the problem. You did not fail!

He was surprised. He asked his coach what did he meant by not failing. His coach went on to explain and gave an example. You have been using the same weights for quite some time. Why have you not increased the weight? His answer was that he was afraid that he could not lift the weights and that he would fail to complete the routine. Therein lies the problem said the coach. You are too comfortable and you are afraid to make mistakes. You will never be able to grow your muscles.

Wow! That is a great point. Today in life we work hard to avoid making mistakes. We are so afraid of failures and making mistakes. We punish our young for making mistakes and they become perfectionist and stressed out when they make mistakes. We have people who quit their business because fear of rejections. People today just cannot handle mistakes, rejections and the NOs in life. Hence the reason why they cannot succeed.

We love Michael Jordan! We love to watch him play. He plays with passion and he is not afraid to fail. He was cut from his high school team because he was not good enough. And yet, today he is recognized as arguably one of the best to have ever played the game of basketball. His secrets, he has failed so many times that is why he succeeds. They even mad a video commercial that we love to share with you. Here is the link. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZyMavSebpo

Today, make a decision to accept failures and rejections. The more failures and rejections that you can endure, believe that success is just around the corner. We have all heard of Thomas Edison’s failure. How many times did he fail to get the light bulb to work? What about Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken. How many doors did he knock before they gave him a chance to share his recipe? Imagine if they all gave up!

The thing that we must do is that we must learn from our failures and mistakes. Most of the time, we fail to do it hence we keep on making the same mistakes. Life is willing to teach us when we are ready to learn.

There is a great saying about school and life. The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.