So here’s the thing: we all fail once in a while. Sometimes we fail a whole bunch of times in a row. It’s hard. You feel like you’re never going to come out on top – like the world is against you – and you’re not even sure what to do. It happens over and over again. And, despite the fact that everyone tells you the best things come out of failure, it doesn’t hurt any less.
The shock isn’t any less. And, that awful feeling of being kicked while you’re already down definitely doesn’t feel any less. Sometimes you’re so down, you can’t even begin to imagine how you might pick yourself back up. But you have to. You owe yourself (and sometimes others) that second chance – and you wouldn’t feel the sweet feelings of success if you didn’t go for it. So, are you ready to figure this out? Here goes.
Real Talk: What to Do When You Fail
Give yourself some time. You have to actually let yourself feel the sense of failure in order to reap the benefits of success that come later. It’s all part of the game of life. But, ignoring those feelings won’t get you anywhere. If you’re mad, be mad. If you’re sad, be sad. If you’re frustrated, be frustrated. It’s OK. But, stop wallowing in it. Let yourself have a day, maybe two – but then after that, move on. No one likes to listen to someone complain endlessly – especially if he or she isn’t willing to take action to fix the problem. So, let it sink in. Feel your feelings and then pick yourself up off the ground and get ready to move on.
Take some time to reflect. So – it happened. You failed. That’s OK. But here’s what you need to know: why did you fail. Why did things go bad – why didn’t they work. Assess each piece of what happened so that you can make a new plan and figure out next steps. Go back through all of your steps – make sure you have an understanding of how you set the stage and where the failure happened in the process. Where is the bottleneck? Which part of the system isn’t working? All of this will help you figure out exactly how to do things better the next time around.
Make a plan of action for next steps. Failure doesn’t always mean that you’re going to do the whole project over again. It’s completely dependent on the situation. You may see what failed and realize you need to go in a totally different direction. Or you may figure out that you need a new team or new supplies – or maybe you’re thinking about everything in a totally new light. Whatever the scenario – you do need to know next steps. How do you move on? What are the parts that work right? What can you salvage and what needs to be completely scrapped and started over? Now is the time for using what went wrong to map a plan for things to go right.
Learn the lessons. Don’t ignore what failure is telling you. You may want to do something a certain way, but time and time again – it doesn’t work the way it should. Follow those signs, learn from those mistakes. Use failure to show you the way to success. No matter what, a lesson always comes from things that go wrong. Even if you can see it right away, take the time to reflect and figure out what the lesson is. You may have to look deeply into the problem or ask someone with an objective viewpoint to help you see what’s going wrong. And, you know what? That’s OK too.
In the end, we need to remember that failure isn’t something to be ashamed. Because, at the end of the day, it’s what you do with failure – how you turn it into success – that matters. Don’t be afraid to stand back up and try, try again because there’s nothing like the sweet sound of success to make you appreciate how you made it through the tough times.
