“You are a failure!”
How often have you heard this? In my life, I have heard it many times – from friends, parents & sometimes from within. The most dangerous is when we hear it from our inner voice. You are compared to a benchmark and then measured against it. Parents & teachers do it more often than anyone else.
When I was a kid, I read a quote in The READERS DIGEST which is instilled in my mind forever. I don’t remember writer but it went like this - “No No No No No…, the more number of No’s you hear, the closer you are to a Yes!”.It is so simple but so deeply powerful! It changed my life forever.
Why is failure so misunderstood.
People take failure as a point where they feel no good for themselves and their loved ones. This is where your own voice can come to your rescue. If you believe that failure is a point to stop then you have lost your path but if you think that you have learnt something worthwhile from this failure then it serves as a catalyst for your growth.
Remember it never ends until you stop!
The famous scientist of our time – Stephen Hawkins was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) when he was doing his PhD from Cambridge University. (Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge)? He was only given 2 years to live at the time. He is now 71. In the initial years he was scared that he will not be able to complete his PhD. But he struggled and fought his life battle and published something astonishing – A Brief History of time.
He failed many times and to add up his pain, his body was against it but he fought and he gave the world something to ponder for the rest of time. He uses his cheek muscle to interact with the world. Think about the perseverance and determination with which he has survived. Has he failed?
If you don’t know his story, watch the 2014 movie based on the true events of his life.
“The Theory of Everything” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsrhiHij_Zg
There are numerous examples of such failure stories that rose above it and achieved some impossible feats. People with strong mind and patience achieve super human results.
Did you know?
Gone With the Wind was rejected by 38 publishers. Legend has it that Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before finally getting financing for his dream of creating Walt Disney World. It’s also been said that KFC founder Colonel Sanders was rejected 1009 times before finding a taker for his chicken recipe. Imagine what the world would be like if they had given up after 1 or 2 or 3 failures?
Failure sounds cruel but it can be a life-changing event. If the Failure is accepted with grace & humanity and reworked using the correct path and pattern, nothing is impossible!
Failure can be devastating but it can be inspirational and it is the way we perceive it. As a kid we failed to understand our parents, mathematics, Science; as a youngster we failed to get good marks, get good girl friends / boyfriends, etc.; as a man we failed to understand our duty to our nation, parents, spouse, brothers/sisters, etc. So we can see that we keep on failing in life in different forms, at different levels, at different scenarios. But we always overcame it, for some we had to fight hard and for some we just sailed through.
Today, as I write this, I am able to recollect all my major failures in life and I am trying to do a retrospective analysis. Now I think if I would have done that in a different way then perhaps the result would have been different. I am only trying to help myself and in process others to understand the importance of FAILURE and get the desired result!
As the saying goes “Failure is stepping stone to success”, so be a champ and achieve the impossible!
“FAILURE is getting you an INCH closer to success and your next step might be your success”
This article was originally published on www.maltibhojwani.com
