You failed, so what?

Yesterday I had a failure. I did not make a blog post even though I’m currently going through the 30 day challenge.

This is by far not the first, nor will it be my last failure. It is just a part of life. It is up to us to recognize that, acknowledge it and then move on with what we were doing.

Don’t beat yourself up over it

I see a lot of people doing this, myself included. But you are definitely not defined by a failure. So don’t make it the center of you.

It is good to acknowledge the failure, learn from it but then it’s time to move on. Try again or go for something else.

“Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.” — Swami Sivananda

Go ask for help

When I was in my last year of my secondary school I flunked, badly. One trimester I only had 11% on my math exams. Devastating for the rest of the year. And so it happened that at the end of the school year I had to do the exam again. Failing that would have meant I had to redo the entire year.

As soon as we got the results one of the smartest students came to me and said that if I needed any help during study that I shouldn’t hesitate. Of course pride get’s in our way and we feel the need to do it ourselves. Yet, after some more studying I felt lost. So I went and asked for help. I got a whopping 74% instead of 11%, all thanks to the help of someone else.

It is definitively not a shame to ask for help even though our pride may make it feel that way. So reach out to someone, anyone that can and is willing to help you. There are plenty of people around you willing.

Don’t give up immediately

When you fail you might feel like giving up. Don’t, just keep at it.
When a child learns to walk it will fall, a lot. Yet, they never stop and wonder that maybe walking isn’t something for them. No, they keep getting up and keep trying.

You were a kid once that had to learn how to walk. Which means you already overcame one failure in your life. And I bet there are a lot more than you yourself realize. So get up, dust yourself off and keep going.

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.“ — Michael Jordan

Take a break

Sometimes you just need to take a small break. Go out there and reset your mind. Overthinking the reasons why might cause more harm then good. Don’t take me wrong, failures should be learned from. But don’t overdue it.

The best way, for me anyway, to take a little break is to do something very physical. Something like a bike ride, a fitness session or going for a run will help you enjoy your break even more and clear that mind.

Let it go

If, in the end, you tried everything to make it work and it won’t than maybe it is time to quit. Though I do believe that this should only be the final possible action. I’m more of change the plans but never the goals type of person. And I encourage you to be like this too.

“Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.” — C. S. Lewis