Why failure is good for you

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.” – JK Rowling

Often people are so scared of failure that they prefer not trying at all. What we generally don’t realize is that failure is inevitable. No matter how bad you want to avoid them, setbacks are part of life and that’s ok. Fear of failure tends to make people abandon their dreams or leads to procrastinating. Yet, nothing can prepare you well for the success as failure can. 

So like it or not, failure is a part of life, and you don’t need to run away from it but rather learn to deal with it. 

Failure teaches us a lot

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

Thomas Edison, one of the most prolific inventors of all time, failed over 10,000 times to invent a commercially viable electric lightbulb, but he didn’t give up. When asked by a newspaper reporter if he felt like a failure and if he should have given up after 9000 failed attempts, Edison simply replied “Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways an electric lightbulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” 

Unlike Edison, what most people fail to see is that they get ample opportunity to learn when they fail. When we fail it does not necessarily means that our idea wasn’t good or that we are incapable. It just means that there is more to be learned, a new way to be found. Once we accept our failure, we can use it as a stepping stone for our success. 

Important for personal growth 

The experience of failing at something can become truly invaluable. It can completely alter our frame-of-mind if we’re willing to seek the wisdom in the setback. Each time we fail, we get to learn something new about ourselves. In doing so, we embark on a journey of self-discovery that leads to personal growth and potential. Failure gives you a chance to strive to be better for best results. This inevitably helps you hone your skills. 

Makes you mentally strong

A lot can be deciphered about a person’s character when he/she faces failure. Do they persevere or just give up? Failure exemplifies an untiring struggle that doesn’t seem to yield. It forces you to strengthen your mind, giving you a mental resilience that doesn’t exist when you succeed. As Winston Churchill, said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." As the man who took Britain to victory in the Second World War, I think it is safe to assume that he knew what he was talking about.

Forces you to revisit your approach

When you fail, there could be times when you’ll realize the present path you are on is not the right one. This important realization can help you seek out new paths and discover what’s right for you. Also, in order to reach a goal you must have a plan to get there. But just creating a plan and never adjusting it does not work. You have to constantly revise your approach, measuring and adjusting things as you go. Take the example of an airplane. It plans to reach a destination in a set time period. But what happens when there are interruptions along the way. Turbulence or air traffic? It adjusts its path to reach the destination. Failure helps you evolve and make adjustments along the way.  Sometimes it could even make one re-evaluate their goals and help them set realistic objectives.

Makes you more tolerant of other’s plight

The ego-shattering experience of failure makes you far more empathetic to the plight of others.  Empathy opens the door to building true value in the world. Because, when we’re empathetic, we’re interested more in helping others since we can relate better to them. 

You truly appreciate success after failure

Anything that comes too easy is often not valued. You appreciate your success much more after you have worked hard for it. Success seems even sweeter after all the struggle, mental wrangling and exhaustion. You know just how many hurdles you had to overcome, how many hoops you had to jump through and how focused you had to be to get where you wanted to be. 

If you are suffering the pangs of failure, I would say this — don’t give up. It doesn’t matter if you failed dozens of times or even thousands of times (like Edison). You will definitely learn something in the process. As long as you put in your heart and soul and believe in your efforts, success will come to you no matter how many failed attempts precede it.