Failure can be hard to talk about or accept. If you have a pulse, you’ve probably failed before. Haven’t we all failed at something?
Back in school, it may have been a quiz or a test. People fail in many areas: at work, in relationships, a driver’s test and the list goes on and on…
It’s important to remember failure doesn’t have to be fatal.
Fall Forward
The point being you have to keep moving forward. Or as Denzel Washington says “Fall Forward.” Check out this powerful video to hear what Denzel means by fall forward in his own words:
Sometimes when you fail, it’s easy to get discouraged and want to give up. But you could be on the cusp of a real breakthrough when you do.
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
– Thomas A. Edison
For example, my friend had to pass a board exam before getting her dream job. In school she was nearly a straight A student, but she still struggled to pass that exam. After failing it twice, she began to doubt herself. She told me how it felt to fail the exam over and over. Then she questioned whether to go into that profession at all.
Knowing how much she always wanted to be what she was only a passing grade away from —I encouraged her not to give up. After more conversation, we discovered the real reason she kept failing was because it was her greatest fear. And that fear came upon her, so we prayed and discussed how to handle it differently next time.
As a result, she changed her mindset about taking the exam and had a new attitude about passing it. And wouldn’t you know, she passed that exam with flying colors. Now she’s living her dream!
There are times when you fail that you must be willing to learn the lesson and make changes to succeed. That’s when you have to dig in and be persistent. Because success comes through failure. Remember as Denzel says fall forward.
#FaithoverFear #FailUp
Image: the blowup
