In the Flow with Healing Waters

The words Failure Brings You Closer to Success on pieces of paper pinned to a bulletin board, encouraing you to see a challenge as an opportunity that is a step to succeed in a goal

The Positive Side of Failure

Is there really a positive side of failure? Most of us view failure as a bad thing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With every failure there is opportunity for positive outcomes, a possibility for change and an opening for growth. You can look at it as “succeeding in failure” if you learn from your mistake.

With the New Year upon us, you may be making a resolution to eat healthier, lose weight or start to exercise. Initially, you’ll be committed to your resolution, but many of us fall away from our goal within 30 days. You can choose to view that as a failure or give yourself some grace, get re-committed, and change what didn’t work for you. Maybe that means getting a support system or journaling your food intake each day.

Succeed in your failure

When the athlete falls short of qualifying to the next level, there is opportunity to grow by additional training, a new modality to enhance your skill, or researching and implementing how to improve. 

Succeed in your failure.

Have you ever failed a test? Maybe you were under prepared or you just didn’t understand the material. The consequence of getting a poor grade dropped your GPA and you feel like a failure. How can you turn that around? Prepare and study ahead of time, ask questions to get more information or get a tutor. 

Succeed in your failure. 

You have a time sensitive project due at work. You also have some issues happening with family that is keeping you from completing the project in a timely manner. You do what you can so you don’t let your boss down, but you know it isn’t your best work. Open communication with your boss may help him or her understand why you didn’t do the high quality of work that you usually do. Or, perhaps you stay up most of the night to finish the project but you feel stressed out and mad at yourself for working under pressure. Either way, learn from the circumstances and succeed in your failure.   

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Failure is a part of life.

 If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. 

If you don’t learn, you’ll never change.

                                                     Nelli Davis

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Succeeding always feels better than failing and it’s up to you to learn, evaluate, implement and follow through with your plan to turn your failure into a success. 

Remember to ask yourself this question anytime that you fail;  Did I do MY best? 

If the answer is no, how can you change the outcome for next time? If the answer is yes, then you didn’t fail, even if you didn’t get the result you desired, because you did your best. 

Below is a list of 11 things that will help you succeed:

  1. Value yourself
  2. Have self discipline
  3. Remember that you don’t have to be perfect
  4. Positive self talk
  5. Take ownership 
  6. Know you are good enough
  7. Take risks and be fearless
  8. Choose healthy relationships
  9. Be aware of your spending
  10. Educate yourself
  11. Make a plan and implement it

Use this list as your checklist next time you fail. See where you fell short and recognize where you can improve, along with awareness of where you shined. Your failures can be your future success stories. 

Succeed in the Flow

Deb Peltier

Deb