Today we will be discussing how to deal with failure. Do you know how it feels when, despite trying so hard, you face failure? If yes, then keep trying because every failure is a stepping stone to success. There are certain inevitable things in life; Failure is one of them. We all commit mistakes.
We are aware of feelings of disappointment and rejection. Being a part of a society where the fear of failure stops you from even trying, you should praise yourself every time you take a risk in life. Although deep down somewhere, we understand how failure helps us grow and strive harder to achieve goals in life. We fear and hate it.
The only way to avoid failure is to stop trying altogether. Failure should be embraced and considered as a learning opportunity. It is never the end of the road; rather, it represents the obstacles and shortcomings within ourselves. It is an indicator that you should put a little more effort to achieve the desired goals in life.
What if you are one step away from success? So, If you are struggling to cope with failure and overcome it, read on to know ‘How to deal with failure’ and seek the path to success. But first, let me address a common question that might have occurred to you as well.
Is the fear of failure a mental illness
The fear of failure is called ‘Atychiphobia,’ and phobias are considered diagnosable mental disorders. The experience of suffering from such distress is traumatizing, which affects you psychologically and physically as well. It may be a part of another mood, anxiety, or an eating disorder. The severity of Atychiphobia differs from person to person.
But it may hinder your performance, and you might prefer missing out on essential opportunities, whether personally or professionally. Having difficulty breathing, unusually fast heartbeat, and pain in the chest are some of the physical symptoms ofAtychiphobia, which is triggered when thinking about certain situations in which you might fail.
In aggregate, the fear of failure is a point of concern if it dramatically impacts your life. The exact causes of why you are experiencing a fear of failure are difficult to pinpoint. But, certain past experiences have a role to play in it.
A doctor may advise you to make certain lifestyle changes, like practicing mindfulness exercises, along with medication and psychotherapy, to reduce your fear. So, if you are experiencing such symptoms for the past six months or more, it is better to visit a doctor before it limits you in exhibiting your full potential. The sooner you start therapy, the more effective it tends to be.
Powerful habits to come back from failure
1- Embrace how you feel after a failure
Failures and setbacks are part of life. They are unavoidable, but the way we deal with them has an immense say in them. It is not the failure that affects our life. Instead, our coping skills determine our strength and determination towards a goal. Experiencing a myriad of emotions after a setback is normal for every human. Anger, distress, sadness, irritation, and the list goes on.
But trying to sluff off feeling bad after a failure is where the problem lies. According to research, you should embrace your emotions instead of faking them with a smile. Allowing yourself to do so will motivate you and inspire you to work harder to achieve success.
Thinking about your emotions rather than the failure itself is helpful for your psychological health. So, don’t shy away from your feelings. Acknowledge how you feel. Let yourself feel bad to get back on track.
‘You have to be able to accept failure to get better.’ – Lebron James
2- How to deal with failure-Take it as a learning opportunity
Failure can be a great teacher only if you change your perspective towards it. Consider it as a learning opportunity and an indicator of improvement. When you start looking at failure with this lens, you’ll recognize nature’s way of guiding you towards your better self. Every setback in life pinpoints your weak areas.
Only if you have tried a little harder, made a different plan, took a different approach towards your desired goal, you would have changed the situation. Once you figure out what went wrong, you’ll start fresh with new zeal and zest trying your best to avoid every mishap which you can.
Search for reasons that lead to failure. It might be because of a colleague, a group of colleagues, or even you. Sometime no one might be responsible for it. Look for the loopholes in the strategy which you adopted to prevent it from happening again.
Failure is a success if we learn from it. – Malcolm Forbes
I am often asked,’ how do you stay positive after failure?’ So, now you know what keeps me moving when I face a setback in life. Try this out and let me know how it changed your life.
3- Practice healthy coping skills to handle failure
If you are wondering, ‘How do you handle failure’ then read on to know one sure-fire way to cope with failure. When hit by a setback in life, your instant reaction is to shut off from this world and hide somewhere. The feeling of shame makes you believe that you’ll remain a failure throughout your life.
You are just not willing to face people anymore. All those days of hard work and commitment come to life the moment you cross paths with someone who is aware of your plans. But this is not the right approach to dealing with failure. Rather talk to a loved one and pour your heart out. Interact with a trusted colleague, a friend, or a family member.
Sharing your grief with your loved ones will make your heart at ease, and you might get the right motivation to start all over again. Practicing healthy coping skills like going for a walk or just sitting in a café having coffee on your own will instantly have a positive effect on your mood. Here are some tried and tested ways to stay motivated.
Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal
or greater benefit. – Napoleon Hill
4- How to deal with failure- Create a better plan to achieve your goal
Facing a setback after you have put your heart and soul into achieving a goal, shatters your confidence, and makes you want to quit. If you don’t handle failure with the right attitude and the right mindset, you’ll never change your life.
There are millions of people out there who started with zeal and passion, but when faced with a setback, they preferred quitting over trying again. Today they are living a mediocre life regretting their decisions in life. But time never comes back.
Therefore, with the right shift in mindset, you can change your outlook on life and failure. Analyze what went wrong while working on a goal. Make a better strategy. Revise the approach you took towards accomplishing a goal. To deal with failure at work, Reflect on both the situation and the target.
When one door is shut, thousands of other doors open, but quitting is never the way to success. It’s always 99% hard work and 1 % luck, not the other way around. To deal with failure, you need to change your approach towards it and grow from it. Here is how to make a great plan.
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas A. Edison
5- Accept that it’s the only way to succeed to overcome massive failure
The question that always pops up in my inbox is, ‘Why does failure hurt so much?’ It does because you put your heart and soul into a project. You work tirelessly for countless days hoping that the results will be in your favor, but things don’t always go the way we expect them to.
Always keep one thing in mind there is no easy formula for success except for hard work and patience. If you are looking for a quick fix to success, you don’t even deserve it in the first place. If you don’t put in the right amount of effort, how can you be grateful when success is bestowed on you?
History is replete with success stories of famous people, but the underlying truth is that they failed a thousand times before reaching that point of success. Be it Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, or Jack Ma; every successful person has a long list of failures behind them.
Many successful people face failures regularly, but the right mindset translates their struggles into growth. Actors get rejected frequently, and entrepreneurs get turned to do projects. There are millions of entrepreneurial ventures happening every year, but only a handful of them survives the ups and downs along the way. What keeps them moving? It is determination and self-belief that acts as a source of light at the end of a tunnel. The hope and desire for a better future keep their enthusiasm alive. Here are some great ways to stay determined.
Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
– Winston Churchill
6- How to deal with failure- Stop thinking about what others will say
To deal with failure at every phase of your life, whether school, college, university, work, or exams, you need to release the need for the approval of others. People will always have a point to negate your existence. They will still be in search of your flaws. It doesn’t matter if you are successful or going through a rough patch in life.
People always have something to judge you. But living life based on what others will think and continuously trying to please others will shatter your dreams into pieces. Trust me; you’ll never reach your goal if you seek everyone’s approval. You can never make all the people happy at once. Here are some great ways how to stop caring about what others think of you.
How to deal with failure in exams
Often what others think of us might not be necessarily true. But, if you stop and get affected by every word that others say about you, you’ll never make it to the end. In this high-achieving society where success is often talked about, going through a setback is tough. We quickly get influenced by what others think of us.
Although, only you are aware of your struggles and challenges. So, don’t care about people and do your own thing in life. After all, this is your life, and you should live it the way you desire.
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’ –
Winston Churchill
7- Work on your self-esteem and get back up to stay positive after failure
Failure takes a toll on your self-esteem and confidence. It makes you doubt your worth and your abilities. Adding to the misery are the people who make the situation even worse by judging you and comparing you to successful people.
Eventually, you indulge in self-loathing, which is not only destructive to your mental but physical health as well. You start blaming yourself and be intropunitive. And You begin walking behind others. You stop making your own decisions. But, this is not how life is supposed to be lived.
People often ask, ‘How to deal with failure in school, in college, or university?’ It’s harder to deal with failure when you are surrounded by people who never miss a chance to make fun of you. Improving your self-esteem will make you see the real picture with more clarity.
You’ll start realizing where you went wrong and when someone else was responsible for the failure. To deal with failure, you need to be confident about your goals and visions. The right approach is to stick to the decision after thinking a hundred times and remaining steadfast in accomplishing it. Once you work on your self-esteem, it would be easier to deal with failure with a positive mindset. Here are some great ways to improve self-esteem.
‘Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to
success when they gave up.’ – Thomas Edison
Conclusion
If you want to achieve big in life, you have to have the courage to deal with failure. Life comes with its setbacks. It surprises us with mishaps when we least expect it. Thereby, it is advisable to prepare for the worst. With the right mindset and approach toward life, coping with failure becomes bearable. By adopting these powerful habits, you’ll be unstoppable even after you go through a debacle, and your perseverance will translate into success.
