Is it Ok to Fail!!

In this highly competitive world of today - whether it is education, career or in every other aspect of life all of us want to taste only "SUCCESS" for which we strive day & night. Success brings with it fame, pride, self-worth, rewards & recognition apart from the monetary benefits that come along.

But what if even after putting all the efforts you end up failing, as per a recent study it says one out of three people fear the word "FAILURE" more than anything else. The reason why I felt it was necessary for me to write on this topic is because I have been speaking to a lot of youngsters & experienced professionals going helter-skelter & on the verge of giving up with many of them losing on their education & jobs due to the current COVID pandemic which has practically toppled the complete economy.

Here are few learning from my life experiences added with what experts have to say on how to bounce back in life:)

• The Big Question : Is it Ok to Fail??..Iam reminded here from a quote of Marilyn Monroe which goes like "Nothing lasts for ever, so live it up, drink it down, laugh it off, avoid the bullshit, take chances & never have regrets, because at one point everything you did was exactly what you wanted..", so my friends learn from your mistakes but never surrender. Keep calm & face the reality, since work is not a child's play.
• Self Doubt : The biggest feeling you get when you fail is self-doubt which can do more harm than any external force. "Success is 99% attitude and 1% of aptitude" - says Celestine Chua founder of Personal Excellence, its important for you to safe guard your killer attitude..that can help you win every battle in life.
• Avoid Gossips : Additional bonus which you get when you fail is a feeling of dejection & negativity which can become a sumptuous meal for gossip mongers, remember this that anyone who will gossip to you, will gossip about you which is the irony of life. So its very important for you to surround yourself with positive people who can help you focus on the possibility & not on the problem.
• Learning from Mistakes : They say never stop learning since the day you stop, you also stop growing. So I would highly recommend you to learn more about problem solving tools like Pareto, The 5 Whys, Fish-bone or FMEA which are brilliant & time tested for you to understand the root cause of your failures that can come very handy for you to think of the solutions.
• Find your Mentor - ???? ???????? ??? : Its most important for you to find the right mentor who can guide, advise & push you to success especially when you are low on your confidence and need support of a hand to pull you up. This will go a long way in fast tracking your journey back to success. Be smart to identify the right mentor in your professional & personal life, who has keen interest in your life & success.
• Set your Self-Goal : This is a critical differentiator to get disciplined & set your targets with specific milestones to be achieved starting from a Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly & Annual with detailed action plans - since you have to convince yourself on the bigger picture which will act like the fuel for your engine to keep moving. Always remember to share your plans with your mentors to review & get critical inputs which can add value to make your journey faster.
• Commit to what you can Deliver: This is again one of the major factors for failure, since you will end up losing the confidence of people when you fail on your commitments. This was a problem I personally faced for a long time as, like most people I didn't know how to say NO which is very important, even if its your boss or customer, they will appreciate you for being honest & help you to fix the problem & close the task faster than what you assumed.
• Learn a Hobby: You remember our childhood days where it was a mandate for us to learn a hobby, have you ever wondered why..it was basically to help you reduce your stress of studies. Somewhere as we grew up we completely left it behind, but I would suggest please restart them - whether it is reading, writing, painting, singing, acting..please rewind, they will end up being your major stress busters.
• Devote sometime on Yourself: At the end of all successes & failures what remains in life if YOU, so take care of yourself with keeping a good health & diet, exercise in any form & meditate for atleast 15 minutes in a day, learn to relax your mind even a simple favorite computer/mobile game of yours can help you rejuvenate which in turn brings in greater focus to work.

Hope you enjoyed reading this & even if it has helped a handful of people to fight their fears, I will be very happy. Finally I would like to leave you with this thought "Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living"!!