April 18

No one likes to fail. We should always strive to succeed.

However, if you’re not failing on occasion, you’re probably not trying hard enough. You’re simply not doing difficult things.

When you do inevitably fail, don’t waste the opportunity. Take the time to pause and reflect on why you failed and to see how you can apply those learnings to your future work. Ask these questions:

Why did I fall short?

What did I learn from this project that I want to remember?

Did I fail because I didn’t try hard enough? Because I lacked the skill? Because I didn’t have the right insight? What was the source?

Is there anything obvious I could do to prevent this kind of mistake in the future?

You can even craft your own questions to ask each time you feel like you fell short. Taking the time to pause, reflect, and determine how to readjust moving forward can make all the difference between a wasted failure and an invaluable one.

Don’t let a good failure go to waste! Pause, reflect, readjust, and move forward.

Every failure or shortcoming is an opportunity to grow.

When was the last time you failed? As you consider that failure, what can you learn from it to help you do better in the future?