“Learn from failures.”
How many times have you head this statement? I, myself, have bragged about it a lot. A lot. But if we closely look at the lesson, we got to know “what not to do”. Right? Right. Who will tell us what to do?
There are a million things that one shouldn’t do. A million, and that too is my very optimistic estimate. Will you fail one million times to finally learn what to do? Not very optimal solution. So, what tells you what to do? A success.
A success story tells you what exactly is to be done and repeated.
Yes, a success story tells you what exactly is to be done and repeated. Learning from failures sounds more fun and interesting because it tells to gain something from loss, and this irony makes it interesting. Besides that, it gives us an excuse for failing – a soft corner where failing is a good thing.
What do you get from failing? A lesson. Can you sell that damn lesson to someone? No? Then, the lesson wasn’t worth it. We’ll agree that there are more failures than successes. And if being a part of the majority gives you a sense relief, then, maybe, that’s why you failed.
Embrace failure, don’t plan for one.
I always say to embrace failure, not to plan for one. When I say, don’t be afraid to fail, I don’t mean failing is something you should aim for. No. Hell no! I simply mean, “you’ve failed. No problem. Try afresh, just more wise this time.”
Once failed, don’t weep about it or hug it for too long. Leave it quickly and try afresh. And learn from successes, from yours and others’. It’s very interesting to read, “what didn’t work”, but it is far more important to read, “what worked”.
Failure is not a great source of learning. Success is. Failure tells you what mistake not to make again. And if you are smarty pants, you won’t make the same mistake again, but you are very likely to make a different one.
You’ve been successful whole your life. Yes, the little successes that you tend to forget and the bigger ones that make headlines. They hide the truth of what needs to be done and repeated. These lessons will tell you what will work. And this is a lesson worth learning.
I agree, every experience is a learning experience – good or bad, each one. But knowing “what will work” rather than “what won’t work” sounds like a better idea, to me.