Succeeding Is Good, But Is It Bad to Fail?

This past week was Halloween, of course, and it got me thinking about a few things. One, in particular, is a failure. Why are people so afraid of failing at something? Is failing that bad? Does your life end when you fail? No, while success gets you claps, failure gives us experience. It is through these experiences that help make you achieve the heights of success. If you search for the success stories of almost any famous personality, you will come to know how many times they failed before becoming successful — feeling lazy to search? Well, let’s talk about some of them.

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

Switch off the lights. What’s there? Darkness. This is how our lives would be if Thomas Edison had not invented the light bulb. Was it an easy thing to do? No. He failed numerous times. But do you know what he said? His words were, “These were not failures, they were my steps to success.” If he hadn’t kept this positive attitude, would it have been possible for him to leave his mark on the world?

If this example is not enough, let’s take another one. Steve Jobs, the founder and CEO of a tech giant, we all know as Apple got expelled from his own company. Yes, he was shown the door by the same company that he founded. Is it anything less than a failure? No. But, he did not lose hope; he kept fighting two fights. Yes, not one but two. First to get his position and reputation back and the second to snatch his life from cancer’s hands. He may have lost the second as winning that was not entirely in his control, but won the first battle and with that our hearts too.

Would they have ever known what success is and how it feels when you succeed without failing? No. We know the sweet dishes’ taste because we’ve tasted the bitter ones before; the same is the case with success too. Have you heard of the quote, “A man can never taste success if he hasn’t tasted failure.” The quotes like these further voice my opinion.

What is Failure?

All our lives we defined the term “failure” in an incorrect way. 

Failure is a teacher: There is no better teacher than failure. It teaches you patience and how to stand for yourself when no one is by your side. These are some of the teachings we get from our teachers. When the teachers are right, then how can failure be harmful if it also teaches the same thing?

We try to find alternatives only when the original idea fails. It is human nature. Therefore, failures become necessary. When we fail, it makes us glance at the situation from a new angle so that we can discover all the possible approaches to address an issue. After all, it is this trial and error that leads to great inventions.

Failure is a motivator: Yes, failures also motivate. When you fail multiple times, a thought strikes your mind, “I am tired of doing the same task, again and again, this time I’ll complete it without failing no matter what”. What has failure done? Well, it has motivated you to give your best and succeed.

Failure is a praise winner: It may sound weird, but failure gets you more praise than becoming successful. How? When you fail, people criticize; however, if you get up and fight again, then the same people applaud louder on your success. Their words change from “He can’t do anything” to “We never thought he could do this; he is a fighter.”

Failure is toughener: This is something you surely cannot deny. Failure toughens you. It makes you mentally stronger so that you can prove yourself. It teaches the skill in you to ignore the societal pressure and chase your dreams with more vigor and zeal.

I know that I will never succeed at everything I try, but I do know that in life, we must take risks. I know that if I don't take risks that I will ultimately fail at some of them, then I will never learn and grow from my failures.