Why You Should Cherish Failure

You might feel you have failed when the results of your actions don’t meet your expectations of yourself or others. Failure can happen whether you had control over the circumstances or not. Whether the mistake is a small glitch or a major flop, failure often weighs heavily on you because you’ve been conditioned that, “failure is not an option”.

This is a lot to overcome. Nothing is perfect; you and the people around you are flawed, and the world is uncertain and constantly changing. With all the uncertainty and complexity, you’re not always going to get things right on the first attempt – especially if you’re doing something completely new.

Instead stop beating yourself up for mistakes, make peace with your foibles and failures, and consider these new ways of looking at mistakes and failure as “learning”:

1. Failure leads to improvement by showing where the weaknesses.

Use the error to examine a potential weakness in how you are doing things. The mistake may highlight the need to increase your skills, either technically or interpersonally. The steps you took to make something happen might have been inadequate. Or, you might need to follow-up or check-in more to get better guidance for yourself and/or to give better guidance to others.

2. Failure provides you with new information and data about what does and doesn't work.

Mistakes help you focus in on what will ultimately work well, especially when you are in uncharted territory. Repeated, incremental failures can help you fine tune your efforts toward success. As Thomas Edison famously said, “Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work, every failure told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt.”

3. Failure can highlight false assumptions.

Consumers didn’t embrace the Ford Edsel in the late 1950s in part because the company mistakenly assumed consumers wanted big cars when they wanted smaller, more economical ones. The maker of Coke incorrectly assumed that it would convert Pepsi drinkers if it made its product taste more like its rival. While it’s too bad that these companies went all the way to market with ill-conceived products, they did learn that their assumptions were flawed. You may be operating under false notions, too.

4. Failure can create curiosity that leads to deeper inquiry and more engagement.

Framing new endeavors in terms of what you can learn helps you come from a place of curiosity and interest. To do this you must avoid blaming and shaming others, which can drive a wedge in between you and your friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues. Instead, ask “why” and “how” questions about the errors to solve problems. Then share what you’ve learned with others in the process and use your new ideas to make improvements.

Perfection is not the goal. Nothing and no one will ever be 100% error free. Instead, it helps be curious and to view everything you try as a creative process that can teach you a lot through the errors, mishaps, and failures that occur along the way. Be grateful you have opportunities to discover what and how you can improve the next time.