Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from trying

“There is freedom waiting for you,

On the breezes of the sky,

And you ask “What if I fall?”

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?”

– Erin Hanson

Have you ever just watched children play?

Sure, children are natural-born entertainers and clowns, yes, but they are natural risk takers (parents, this probably grates your nerves and is currently turning your hair white). Whether they are jumping off the high diving board or going down the big-kid slide at the playground, kids get it: sometimes, the risk is worth the reward. 

You might have to fall a few times, sure, but it’s all part of the process.

You may not remember your days on the playground, but you may have grown up with some version of the quote “If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again.”  The point of the expression is simple:  if you continue to try, you will eventually succeed. We start out life with a drive to master those things that we initially fail at: crawling, walking, talking, running, counting, etc. Somewhere along the way, we forgot that there is a lesson in failing. Know this: your perspective on failure determines your ability to succeed both in business and in life. If you see failure as fatal, then when things do not work out you stop. 

But what if you looked at failure as another data point that you can learn from?  

Why Failure Matters

Failure is an obstacle, yes, but it also can be our greatest teacher. Not only does it teach us about our strengths or weaknesses, but it teaches us about circumstances. Failure allows us to grow, to re-assess and re-evaluate our skills, our process, and our work. Failure is only the ending if we allow it to be. If we’re smart, we can turn failure into yet another beginning. 

I talk about success and failure a lot on Engineer Your Success. On a recent episode, I talked about seeing our problems as opportunities and the importance of not being afraid to fail. Click the link below to check it out.

🎙Click HERE to listen to Engineer Your Success🎙

Tell me in the comments: what have you learned from failure? What have obstacles shown you about yourself?