Some people think failure is a disgrace and try to do everything in their power to avoid it. Actually, it is one of the best learning experiences that you can possibly have. It is not something to be avoided but rather something to be embraced. We can learn as much from something that does not work as from one that does. That is a lesson from science that can benefit your daily life. You should aim for success while being prepared to learn from a series of failures. A failure tolerant attitude liberates success. Something is learned each time things fail. You might say, it is a matter of failing forward!
Wrapped up in the idea of embracing failure is the related notion of breaking things to make them better. Often the only way to improve a complex system is to probe its limits by forcing it to fail. For example, software is improved by engineers systematically finding ways to crash it. Eventually, it is very difficult to make it fail. That is a part of the quality control process. The habit of embracing negative results is one of the most essential tricks to gaining success. So stop worrying about making mistakes. Get out there and break something! Have a failure and turn it into success!!
O Guru of Guano: I followed your advice. Unfortunately, the article I broke turned out to be a 4,000 year old Mayan toilet urn. I told the proprietor, Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and my failure would somehow turn out to be his success. He agreed and has sent the $50,000.000.00 bill to you. He says don't worry, though, he'll accept Visa or Mastercard. I no longer worry about failure, so you can expect more bills to arrive. Yours gratefully, TsarPat
ReplyDeleteBut wait! I did not mean failure creates success. I meant that failure points out the problems that you must overcome before you reach success. You must overcome your own problems and you can't delegate them to me. I have enough of my own. You are a literal old bastard!
ReplyDeleteBut you told me to "go out there and break something." Now you turn on me and scold because I did what you said. Of course, my success meant your failure, and you didn't tell me to do that. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteTsarPat
PS: I remember that when Napoleon took Moscow in 1812, many considered it to be a success. Au contraire, over the next three years he had to ignominiously retreat back to France and inexorably lose his empire. Success leading to failure.
PPS: Do you think I should also write the nine millionth how to succeed book?
Perhaps success and failure are really the same thing? No, I think you should write a book about how to fail. You are immanently qualified.(just kidding).
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