The Great Gift of Failure- Turning Losses into Long Term Wins

It's incredibly frustrating trying to make a name for yourself no matter what you're doing, be it a musician, lawyer, doctor, videographer, whatever you're doing with your life, it's going to hurt at the start and you are going to fail... A lot. But what if I told you that that failure is probably the most beautiful and crucial part of the learning experience? Well, contrary to the feeling that you get from your hard work blowing up in your face, it's the most important milestone to becoming a more successful individual. This might not always be the case, some people can pick things up naturally or have things fall into their laps, but I'll be the first to tell you that those who experience their failures and continue pressing on despite their misfortunes are far better off in the long run than those who got lucky or were "born with it".

For example, lets take a look at that person who is naturally good at something. Lets say hypothetically that our friend John is naturally good at playing guitar. John can pick up his guitar and write a masterpiece in 15 minutes. He goes and finds a band to perform his songs with him and ends up blowing up. His friend Tony on the other hand has been practicing for years on the guitar, writing for days on end and still can't come up with anything catchy. No matter how he tries, he just can't achieve the success that John has been able to achieve in a matter of months. Nevertheless, Tony doesn't give up and keeps working on his craft.

Lets fast forward a few years later on our hypothetical situation here. John has been so successful with little to no effort on his part that he has now got used to not having to put much effort into his work. He no longer feels the need to practice his guitar because it just comes so naturally to him and he starts to take advantage of his new career perks playing music for his label. Meanwhile, Tony is finally starting to break the ice with his music career after years of diligent work and countless failures. All of a sudden, the style of music that John has been playing starts to get phased out and people stop caring. John's label approaches him and tells him he needs to make something completely different or get kicked off the label. John tries and tries but can't seem to come up with anything different than the formula that came naturally to him and got so cocky that he is now out of practice writing different, innovative tracks. Tony on the other hand notices that the industry and demand has been changing. Tony has tried almost everything imaginable and now sees a golden opportunity to capitalize on a shifting industry. Tony takes some of his old work and re-crafts it to fit the new style and starts practicing heavily.

Tony is now so well versed in his craft and has failed so many times he now knows what not to do and what works. He is able to alter his craft to fit whatever and where ever he is needed and is able to play everything he knows without even thinking twice about it because he's had so much practice. Meanwhile, John has been kicked off his label and is now having a mid life crisis because the only thing he was good at was swept up from under him. Furthermore, it's important to point out that because John has only experienced failure a handful of times, he now doesn't know what to do with himself or how to cope with his livelihood falling apart. He falls into a bout of depression and gives up, eventually getting a job at a retail store, overall depressed and not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel. Tony on the other hand has failed so many times he's used to it and doesn't take his new found (and earned) success for granted. He has a backup plan already mapped out and he practices every day and doesn't take his skill for granted. Even if he were to lose everything, he'd still be alright and be able to deal with it because he already has years of experience failing over and over again.

While that story may be hypothetical, this can easily be translated to real life. Just take a look at failed celebrity careers or short lived "one hit wonder" bands. This can also be said with businesses, doctors, inventors, pretty much any skill in life that has room for innovation and requires practice. Failure is really more or less a matter of how you look at it and your perspective on the situation. If you start looking at your failures not as negative situations but positive learning and growth experiences, the benefits will surely reward you long term.

The trick is to never give up and have some faith in yourself. It's difficult, in fact much more difficult than most things in life, but if you keep trying and keep practicing, you will be rewarded long term and you will be a much stronger person in the years to come. It's important to note however not to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You need to learn from your failures and misfortunes and grow from them in order to not continue to repeat them. Just try to keep being persistent and don't get down on yourself. Confidence always wins over convenience.

What do you think? Do you agree with this or do you have a counter arguement to my statement? Let me know in the comments and we'll have a discussion about it. If you enjoyed this post, make sure to leave me some love and subscribe to hear more from me.