“After we had conducted thousands of experiments on a certain project without solving the problem, one of my associates, after we had conducted the crowning experiment and it had proved a failure, expressed discouragement and disgust over our having failed to find out anything. I cheerily assured him that we had learned something. For we had learned for a certainty that the thing couldn’t be done that way, and that we would have to try some other way.” January 1921 issue of American Magazine interview of Thomas Edison.
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Fear of Failure
Many people learn from a young age that failure is to be avoided at all costs. They might trip and fall down in class, or maybe someone tries to give a public speech and fails miserably as seen in The Kings Speech movie. In either case, society can be judgmental and bully others for simply taking a calculated risk and putting themselves out there. The fear of failure is neither helpful nor natural. Kids aren’t born afraid of risk, and are very much willing to try anything.
Analyzing Failure
When a failure occurs, it is vital to take a deep look at the decisions leading up to it. What was in your control and what wasn’t? I have struggled throughout my life by beating myself up about never being good enough. Even when I succeeded at completing a goal, there was always some reason of why I failed. Many times, the cause of sub par results was due to factors outside of my locus of control. Necessary information was unavailable or outdated. Consequently, it is imperative to focus only on what is within your control and to learn as much as possible from each failure.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” Henry Ford
The Business of Failure
Successful businesses consistently update and upgrade their product lines as a result of competition. Companies mine massive amounts of analytical data and search for any indication of deficiencies. You heard me right, they actively seek out evidence of failure! Anyone with lasting success has mastered this ability. Searching for failure, analyzing the situation which caused the failure, and making improvements to prevent future failures, allows for a company to stay relevant and competitive. For more about what makes a business successful, check of Good to Great by Jim Collins.
Re-framing fear of failure into failure is feedback is powerful as a tool for mitigating risk. Removing the fear surrounding failure allows someone to make decisions from a position of strength. Regardless of the outcome, they will extract value and as a result, drastically improve the value of their life.
The Fantasy of Perfection
Perfection in one’s life does not exist, because the precise definition of perfection is subjective. Ask anyone what their “perfect life” would entail, and you will get as many different answers as people asked. In short, perfection is a personal perspective. The pursuit of perfection is a trap easily fallen into for people, especially those consuming excessive amounts of social media. I have struggled with aiming for perfection, and deflating when it is not accomplished. My internal dialogue defaults to disqualifying success with a simple statement such as: “Someone could have done it better/faster/cheaper…”
While it may be true that there is someone out there who could have done it better/faster/cheaper, however, it does not mean that I failed. My day job is web development, and for those not in that field, there are always more efficient ways to write code. Developers have their own style and performance requirements. If my code runs according the desired specifications, then it is a success, regardless if a 30-year software engineering veteran could write it more efficiently.
Final Thoughts
No one can do you like you can! Don’t be afraid to fail: be afraid to fail without learning anything from it. Get out there and be yourself. Above all, see failures as feedback, and maximize your efforts on making improvements in the areas you have control over.
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