How to Make Failure Your Best Friend

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."

Winston Churchill Tweet

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

This quote has always resonated so deeply with my soul because it truly puts the typical definition of failure into perspective. When I read the word stumbling, it reminds me that failing sort of does feel like you are on shaky territory just trying to find your balance. BUT the keyword in Mr. Churchill’s words of wisdom is – enthusiasm.

How do we stay enthusiastic through failure? Simple. We make it our best freaking friend.

I think about all of the opportunities I would have missed if I stopped trying after I failed. Where would I be in my career? Would I have given up on dating after a few bad breakups? Would one bad experience with a former friend cause me to miss out on the blossoming friendships in my life today?

What would YOUR life look like if you accepted that one failure as your fate?

Maybe you are in a season where you feel like you hit a wall or you’re experiencing a failure. What if you’re right on the brink of something great? And if you continue to push through, you’ll not only make this failure your best friend BUT also have a victory to share with others?!

If you’re here reading this, I can only assume that you are a driven, optimistic soul SO let’s talk about how to make failure your best friend.

Here are 5 ways to embrace failure:

Take an opportunity to ask for honest feedback.

Take an opportunity to ask for honest feedback. No matter what area of life you came up short in, rather than soaking in your defeat, ask what did I learn from this? I went through a period in my life shortly after college where every job interview resulted in a big fat failure. No matter HOW many interview tips I practiced and applied, I could not convert those skills into landing the job. One thing that I wish I would have done is to send a follow-up email to ask why instead of wondering what I did wrong.

Once you get over the initial rejection, don’t be afraid to get some answers to learn for future opportunities. You’d be surprised that a) it’s likely NOT personal and b) how much you can learn from critical feedback.

Remember that it is helping you build up your resiliency.

Remember that it is helping you build up your resiliency. Imagine that YES is the only answer you ever receive from childhood. You’d know no boundaries, you’d consistently expect the best-case scenario, and you’d likely have a hard time recovering from your first NO. Remember that every failure you experience is just a temporary setback and an opportunity to recalibrate the plan.

The more times you can bounce back effortlessly from fails, the more resilient you become. Think of it as a muscle that you are conditioning. Just like any skill, it has to be practiced and applied in a real-life setting.

Use it as inspiration to draw closer to your passions.

Use it as inspiration to draw closer to your passions. Perspective is everything, right? So change your perspective from “I failed” to “this wasn’t the right opportunity for me.” It’s one less thing to TRY.”

As cliche as this example may be, I often think of Thomas A. Edison who once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” So many great creators, entrepreneurs, and strong individuals have likely failed more times than they’ve succeeded. If something hasn’t worked out your way, use it as YOUR queue to pivot into a new direction.

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Embrace it & own your narrative.

Embrace it & own your narrative. The easiest way to take back your power after failing at something is to own it. Use it as fuel to become better in every aspect of your life and share the steps you took along the way to overcome it.

The best stories are the ones we hear from people that push through hardships and come out victorious on the other side. Give yourself time to wallow and then throw a game plan together and get to work, friends!

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Don’t take yourself too seriously. When we see our failures, too often it seems like the end of the world. Think about how magical it is when we realize that some of the things we’ve “failed” at really aren’t that big of a deal in the big picture of our life. After hearing so many no’s at my post-college job interviews, I had to laugh and call myself a professional job interviewer. When I got over the initial blow to my ego, I started to relax more in interviews and eventually landed a great job.

Just remember that everything will ALWAYS fall into place. Have fun, laugh through the fails, and trust the process.

So Let's Recap...

So let’s recap here. How do we make failure our best friend? Simple. Ask for honest feedback, use it as fuel to build up your resiliency, draw closer to your passions, embrace it, and remember not to take yourself so seriously! YOU are capable of amazing things and will accomplish so much. What’s one way YOU bounce back?

Here are 5 ways to embrace failure:

Take an opportunity to ask for honest feedback.

Remember that it is helping you build up your resiliency.

Use it as inspiration to draw closer to your passions.

Be sure to join my list for your FREE 30-day positive affirmation calendar and day planner template!

Embrace it & own your narrative.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

So Let's Recap...

Join my list for your FREE 30-day positive affirmation calendar and day planner template!

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