Energized By Failure

Energized by Failure

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Thomas Edison made many attempts at inventing a working lightbulb with setback after setback. Yet he was confident he hadn’t failed even once. He had simply found ten thousand ways not to make a lightbulb. That’s a great perspective when you face adversity. In the effort toward any worthwhile goal, failure has to be considered part of the process. Failure in achieving a particular result isn’t really failure if it’s another step on the way toward the goal. It can be a vital part of the journey.

I wish I had learned more about failure when I was young—how to handle it and even appreciate it. I just didn’t realize how often it would rear its ugly head. Twenty-eight years of coaching with one Super Bowl and twenty-seven years not so super. I saw successful people and didn’t even consider the struggles that might have been part of their journey to get where they were. But I’ve since learned that failure—in sports and in every area of life—happens regularly. It’s part of everyone’s experience. And if we’re afraid of it, we won’t step out and try very much. We’ll never accomplish our dreams if we’re afraid of what might happen when we try.

Don’t get discouraged when you fail. In fact, consider it a normal part of learning. I hope you fail less than I have, but you can count on failing sometimes. The most successful people I know are those who have handled failure the best. Though many people treat it as a dirty little secret and wear masks to cover it up, successful people have learned to be comfortable trying something that doesn’t work out. Success isn’t about never failing; it’s about persevering through mistakes and adversity. If you persist, even your failures can turn into a valuable part of your success story.

Uncommon Key > Remember that failure isn’t part of your identity; it’s simply part of your journey. If you have failed at something recently, jot down some of the lessons you learned from it and use them to persevere toward your goals.