FAILING FORWARD

JOHN C. MAXWELL

“Failure is the stepping stone to success”, but almost all of us have a negative perspective on failure, which is not how it should be perceived. John Maxwell provides a positive perspective on failures in his book Failing Forward. This book is suggested for creative professionals, perfectionists, and ambitious leaders who are curious to know about the role of failure in success. 

“Failure isn’t so bad if it doesn’t attack the heart, Success is all right if it doesn’t go to the head.”

EMBRACE FAILURES

“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure”

Failure is always considered to be the opposite of success, but it isn’t the opposite of success, rather it is a necessary part of success. Learning to fail today will help one to become successful tomorrow. Failure is not an obstacle to be avoided on the road to success. A small failure doesn’t mean the end of the road. It should be embraced because it teaches one to become stronger.

 Failures are temporary ones but not the reason to give up on the destination. If the fear of failure paralyzes one at the beginning, it would not allow one to move forward. It gives a discouraging feeling. This debilitating fear damages the chances of achieving success. Successful people like entrepreneurs know that these failures will not break them as daring thinkers can’t be right all the time and that one day they will attain the destination and that’s how they overcome the fear of failure. This shows that it is necessary to fight the fear of failure at every opportunity.

 One can overcome this fear through countless activities like taking up more responsibilities and daring strategies. Refusing to take risks makes a person unambitious and lazy. On the other hand, taking risks may sometimes lead to failures but by embracing it one can reach the goal. 

“The things that hurt, instruct”

FAILURES BRING NEW OPPORTUNITIES

“If you’re not failing, you’re probably not moving forward”

Many of us assume failures to lead to negative outcomes but many discoveries and new opportunities emerge from failures. Thomas Alva Edison worked for years to become successful. He used his lack of success as a new opportunity to develop something entirely new. This tells that failures are powerful incentives to work hard and bring changes in one’s life. To become successful, one should have the ability to persevere after failures. 

William Marston who was an inventor as well as a psychologist believed that the ability to persevere after failures is crucial to success. Those who do not have it lack the potential to achieve their destination. All great achievers have persevered in the face of adversity, shortcomings, and rejection.

POTENTIAL OF FAILURE

“One’s attitude towards failure determines the altitude after failure”

Failures arise because of the factors that one cannot control. Instead of trying to control things that are beyond one’s control, one can focus on things that depend on them. An individual should not blame oneself for failures but can take responsibility for success. The blaming attitude may prevent one from succeeding. So, one should chase their dreams, shape the future by taking responsibility for the circumstances.

 Failure is an inspiring learning experience. It is good to have a determination to learn from failures as it enables one to develop their skills and creativity. In the wake of failure, many do not spend time and energy to analyze what went wrong which results in making the same mistake again. Therefore, identifying the causes of failures allows one to learn, grow, and achieve their goals. 

 Embracing failures and overcoming it opens up new opportunities but to use these opportunities one has to practice three things. They are:

• Goal-setting: Goals that allow one to create a better lifestyle.

• People skills:  Spending time on people skills like communication and conversational skills will help to get the support of other people through which new opportunities to achieve one’s ambitions would come.

• Positive mindset: A positive mindset helps one to discover new opportunities and move forward.

“When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic.”

FAILURE IS EVITABLE BUT BENEFICIAL

 Failure is simply a price that one pays to achieve success. Experiencing failure provides valuable opportunities and pushes one to become the best by overcoming the weakness. To achieve success, one has to embrace failure, have a clear goal, and a positive mindset. 

“Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward”

#IAS Academy in Chennai
#IAS Coaching in Chennai
#Best IAS Academy in Chennai
#Best IAS Coaching in Chennai
#IAS Coaching Centre in Chennai
#UPSC Coaching in Chennai