Courtesy: Rudo Loock
“There is no success like failure,” such a strange way to put it. Any successful person out there would tell you that their success did not come overnight. Their success came through countless failures throughout their lives. They learned from their failures. They grew from their failures. They became successful because of their failures. They have learned the value that failure brings to their lives. They have allowed failure to mold them into who they are today.
Failure is one of the best gifts given to us, because it enables us to grow. Through many failed attempts, we learn how to deal with failure and, as a result, how to embrace it. Failure surely will not kill you, but your fear to fail might keep you from reaching new heights.
Why is failure a good thing?
There are many people out there who want to change something for the better. They want to try something new, but something inside of them is keeping them from doing so. That something is often called “fear of failure”. Embracing failure and change are two concepts that are interconnected with each other. Without one, the other would not be possible. If we are afraid to fail, we cannot improve ourselves and ultimately live our best life.
For us to try something new, we have to be prepared to fail. Fear of Failure often keeps us from trying new things. We are afraid of letting ourselves and those around us down. Michael Jordan once said, “I failed over and over again in my career, and that is why I succeed”. Do not be afraid to fail, as it teaches us valuable lessons. Failure molds us into something good, something extraordinary.
How do you deal with failure?
There are many ways to deal with failure. Arguably the most common way to deal with failure is to embrace it. Expect failure to show up at your doorstep and befriend it. Once you recognize that failure can be your greatest ally, then you are already halfway to the finish line.
Another fantastic way to deal with failure is to go back to the drawing board after a failed attempt. Do not give up so easily. Find the problem. What caused you to fail? Then, find the solution to your problem. This is how we grow. Learn from it and keep going!
The third and final way to deal with failure is to simply trust the process. Great things never happen overnight. It takes time. The road to greatness and success is a long, windy, steep road. It is a road that many people would not dare to take, because it is too hard, and they do not want to cross paths with failure. Every failed attempt is one step closer to the end of the road. Failure does not mean your ideas are not good or that you dream too big. It simply means that you might have to take a different approach to reach your goal. The lessons we learn along the way are often more valuable than the end result.
If your ability to get back up after failure exceeds all your negative thoughts, then you can do whatever you set your mind to. Failure is probably one of the biggest blessings in disguise. Embrace it. Grow from it. Trust it. Follow these three steps and your life might just change before your eyes. Allow your failures to shape you piece by piece into something astonishing.
ABOUT RUDO LOOCK
My name is Rudo Loock and I am from South Africa. I was blessed with an opportunity to go swim for Florida State University. I am a 4-time ACC qualifier and one time NCAA qualifier. After battling many ups and downs throughout my career, I now aim to share my knowledge about the sport’s physical and mental side through my personal blog at www.alpha-mindz.com with the rest of the swimming world.
