It’s Friday. The end of yet another week. The first quarter of the year is nearly behind us. Wow!
Today in our small business blog I am going to talk about how we can learn the most from our failure, not just our successes.
I don’t like to reflect on my failures. Frankly I think failing sucks. I want to put them behind me as fast as I possibly can! They make me feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. It’s hard to admit them, let alone publicly or talk about them with others. No matter how much I trust you. At times I even find myself avoiding risky situations where my odds of success aren’t good.
Yet I think by stopping and acknowledging our failures, we do more for advancing ourselves, our businesses and our happiness. The most successful people in the world didn’t follow a path lined with only successes. Whether they admit it or not, they have faced failure and faced it often. Seth Godin’s latest book, Poke The Box, talks a lot about this.
One of the best teachers I know started off down the path of medical school. Yet after failing a few science classes in undergrad, not because she couldn’t do it but because she wasn’t engaged, it was clear that being a doctor wasn’t the path to happiness for her. Now she’s a top second grade teacher and loves what she does.
Failure builds character. It teaches us valuable lessons.
What did you fail at this week? Tell us here. Or if you’re more comfortable (like me), just spend 10 minutes alone reflecting on it and how you can not fail at the same thing next week. Or if you do fail at it next week, how you can fail in a different way 🙂