There is no such a thing as failure

There is no such a thing as failure

Presupposition 8: There is no such a thing as failure, only result or feedback.

          Now we are discussing about a very important presupposition which can make changes in all areas of our life. The word ‘failure’ is a very common word we heard from nursery school. Teachers always warn us not to fail in examinations (because higher authorities warn them!). “There is no such a thing as failure, only result or feedback”. Honestly speaking I have never heard the word ‘success’ during my school days instead the word ‘pass’ was very familiar to us.

          Failure and success are two words that denote the extremes of an action or a work. The word ‘Failure’ usually indicates that the person couldn’t meet the criteria to pass. The comments ‘you failed’, ‘he failed’ or ‘she failed’ remind the persons that they are behind to those have more progress. If you mark a point somewhere on a scale to indicate the demarcation between pass and failure, that point creates different thoughts and emotions in the person. Negatively thinking people see the demarcation point as a hurdle on the race of life. Unfortunately many institutions imprint a ‘stamp of failure’ on the mark list if the position is between zero and the point of demarcation!

          In fact there is no such a thing as failure only results or feedback. Say for example we perform an activity and we mark the progress on a paper from 0 to 100 graphically. Each and every point on the sheet indicates our progress at a particular time of measurement. Each point indicates the progress until that time. Point 1 positively indicates that you have already finished 1% of the work and point 99 indicates you have finished 99%.  If you think negatively, at point one 99% work is pending and 1% is yet to complete at point 99! So there is no question of failure in any point but should be the ‘result of performance’ or ‘feedback of progress’ at that time.

          To see the poor progress of a person with a negative angle of view and stamp it as ‘failure’ is a common mistake done by authorities. We can see this in every walk of life including the little nursery school. There are a number of reasons for the poor performance of a person during a specific period of time. It doesn’t mean that a person once performs poor always performs poor. And also a person poor in one area of life is good in another area and best in some other area. Einstein was not good in school and he received only a diploma from the school initially however every educated persons in the world now know him because he became a wonderful scientist great achievements.

          Another mistake we do in our life is that we observe and do research only on success stories. We have to give equal importance to stories of the so called ‘failure’. To know why a person didn’t succeed is equally important to know how a person succeeded. The former gives you certain warnings and latter gives you the steps to follow.

          Stories of winners are not only the stories of ‘carpets of flowers’ but are the stories of ‘pathways filled with thorns and stones’ too; it includes struggles, hurdles, obstacles, pitfalls and rejections. Great leaders and winners of remarkable achievements like Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Alwa Edison, Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King experienced ignorance and rejections in their life.

          Do you remember that day in your babyhood when you learned to stand up first time and you declared yourself as a winner! Probably you forget it. You must have noticed the efforts the kids take to learn walking; they first crawl using their abdomen, then their knees and shortly they stand on their feet but how many times do they fall. Upon falling if they decided to not try again nobody could ever walk. They never disappointed instead they try again and we encourage them. After the continuous efforts the number of falls comes down and finally they achieved their goal. Babies have no sense of failure!

          The one who view the results as ‘failure’ think negatively and give up their dreams. The success is not a result of luck but an outcome of continuous efforts, hard work and dedication.  Adults are less willing to make mistakes and take risk and perhaps such an attitude lead them to think of themselves as a failure.  Adults look for immediate success. They are not ready to consider mistakes and poor performances as feedbacks and learning opportunities for corrections and betterments. Eliminating what doesn’t work is an effective way to find what does work. Edison wasted large quantity of materials for bulb before inventing the first successful model. Abraham Lincoln experienced the taste of failure many times before achieving the president’s chair.

          We do not fail. We can do it again and improve with feedback. Every failure is a stepping stone towards success. This is what winners are always doing. So remember the most important presupposition that can change our life “There is no such a thing as failure, only result or feedback”.