The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. - John C. Maxwell
You will fail many more times than see success. If you want to achieve anything in life, you'll have to deal with failures countless of times. The ratio of success and failure is unfairly higher on the failure side.
People whom we see as successful failed many more times than succeeded.
Yet, we unconsciously see them as embodiments of success. They are not. They failed more times than you can imagine.
If you are trying to succeed at anything in life, you have to have a healthy view of failure.
Here's how people who changed the world forever, looked at failure.
1 - They looked at failure as a test of their courage
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. - Winston Churchill
How many hits can you take before giving up?
We know Winston Churchill as a great leader, who led the United Kingdom through the Second World War. He played a massive role in setting the alliance of the "Big Three" world powers that won against Nazi Germany. His speeches gave people hope and strength to persevere through one of the darkest times in Britain's history.
Yet, most don't talk about his disastrous World War I failure. Churchill was the architect of the campaign called Gallipoli Campaign. Due to its poor planning, it failed and was a great loss for the Allied forces in their attempt to weaken the Ottoman Empire.
As a result of the failure, Winston Churchill received a lot of criticism and was forced to resign from his position as First Lord of the Admiralty. For several following years, he failed to secure a seat in the government after the First World War.
Yet, Churchill persevered without expecting the easy way through. He saw the defeats as a challenge to his courage. It wasn't a question of success or failure but of courage to continue despite negative outcomes.
Anyone can be courageous when victory is imminent.
Because of Churchill's perseverance, we know him not as a failure but as a successful political leader.
Whatever you do, you will face rejections, setbacks and defeats. It will test you and at times success will feel impossible. See the failure not as a final defeat but as a test of your courage to persevere.
Choose to see failure as the enemy who's testing you asking, "If this flops, will you have the courage to continue?"
2- They looked at failure as the inevitable road to success
Failure is success in progress. - Albert Einstein
It's common to see failure as the end of a journey towards success.
Very few people realize that failure is a natural part of the process. The road to success is paved by many failures. Sadly, there are no shortcuts.
Einstein was seen as a hopeless failure in the eyes of traditional educators. Several of his teachers didn't believe that poor Albert would achieve anything in life. In childhood, he wasn't seen as a bright kid. Later in life, he failed the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School entrance exam.
Yet, it was Einstein's failures that made him famous. The failure in school made Einstein think out of the box. His different approaches to science and philosophy lead to breakthroughs. His failure to get a job as a patent examiner led to the time when he developed the theories that made him famous.
If you are failing, you're on the journey to success. Don't get discouraged or impatient. Instead, keep on moving forward.
3- They looked at failure as the greatest teacher
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. - Thomas Edison
Every failure is a data point, teaching you what didn't know before. Every failure is a small step towards success because you get to discover what doesn't work.
When Thomas Edison was developing the electric light bulb, he tested many different materials for different parts. Every time the material failed he was able to put it aside and try the next one. Every failed material provided data points which helped to find the materials that worked.
Thomas Edison treated failures and successes as data points, helping him develop his invention.
After you gather data from a failure, you get to have a better start next time.
Your perception of failure doesn't need to be something that stops you, but it can be something that teaches you. Most people take failures personally and take upon themselves the label of a failure. Unsuccessful attempts don't make anyone a failed individual.
See every failure as a data point showing what doesn't work. Take note of it and try tweaking the details in your experiments. It's only a matter of time until you make a discovery that will lead you to success.
Failures are teaching you. Every unsuccessful attempt is a data point narrowing the options and helping you to sift through the things that don't lead to success.
Last thoughts
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. - Robert F. Kennedy
Failure is not to be avoided but embraced. The only way to avoid failure is to do nothing with your life. If you avoid risks, you will avoid failures as well as success.
Be courageous and keep on moving forward allowing every failure to teach you what to improve. It's only a matter of time until you see success!