Corny, But So
True: 3 Life Lessons Failure Teaches You
“Well, I’ve got that in the bag,”
I thought to myself as I strolled out of the office building where I’d just
completed a job interview—my second one with a company I was ridiculously
excited about.
I walked to my car feeling confident and self-assured. I had an eloquent
and thoughtful response for every single question the interviewer tossed my
way. She had laughed at my jokes. We even bonded over our love for dogs. I knew
I had knocked the meeting out of the park, and I was already picturing my name
emblazoned on those glossy new business cards.
A couple of days later, the email I had been anxiously awaiting arrived
in my inbox. I clicked it open as fast as I possibly could, eager for the
confirmation of the news I was so sure was headed my way. Visions of confetti,
a marching band, and the hiring manager leaping out of an oversized cake
flashed before my eyes.
But, that good news and rejoicing isn’t what I got. Instead, I quickly
skimmed through the email to see all of those cliché lines we all dread reading.
They really liked me, but I wasn’t the perfect fit. There were many qualified
candidates. It was a pleasure to meet me. Blah, blah, blah.
My heart sunk into my shoes. How could this happen? I thought I had this
all locked up. But, things didn’t pan out—I had failed.
You’ll hear a lot of advice and sympathetic anecdotes about failure during the course of your career. And, I’ll be the first to admit
it: In the heat of the moment—when your eyes are still teary and your ego is
still bruised—they don’t really help all that much.
Yes, the intentions are great. But, when I just want to put on my
sweatpants and drown my sorrows in a bottle of wine and a bag of Hot Cheetos,
your canned story about the trials and tribulations of Abraham Lincoln goes in
one ear and out the other.
Believe me, I can sympathize with you. I know that failure sucks. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. However, it really
can still be a valuable learning experience. In fact, there are a few things
that you can only learn by failing.
So, when you’ve finally polished off those snacks and are feeling at
least somewhat receptive to some constructive encouragement, keep these lessons
in mind. Because, no matter what it feels like, that torturous brush with
failure really was good for something.
1. There’s Always Room for
Improvement
When you’ve failed, it’s human nature to grasp at straws and generate all sorts of excuses
as to why this wasn’t your fault. That project was too
difficult or the deadline was too short. That client was rude. That company
was always going to hire someone from the inside. There was
nothing you could do.
However, you’ll never be able to view something as a learning experience
if you’re convinced you have absolutely nothing to learn. I’m sure you’re stellar
at what you do, but that doesn’t mean you get to coast for the rest of your
life.
All of us—I mean it, every single one of us—has areas where we could do
better. And, there’s nothing like failure (and that insightful feedback that
results from it) to highlight those areas for us in obnoxious, can’t-miss neon
yellow.
2. Persistence Is Your Greatest
Quality
Everybody fails (but, no, I won’t bring up Abraham Lincoln). It’s an inevitable
part of life. You won’t succeed at everything you try. And, if you’re currently
operating with that assumption, I hate to tell you that you’ll soon end up
sorely disappointed.
However, miserably failing at something quickly reminds you that you
can’t let a few stumbles (or even full-blown wipeouts) completely stop you in
your tracks. Instead, you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep
pushing forward.
You likely have tons of great qualities that make you an awesome person
and employee. But, of all of these, persistence is the one that’s going to get
you the furthest in your career. Because you won’t ever get anywhere if you insist on staying stuck.
Just ask good ol’ Honest Abe.
3. Life Goes On
Here it is: The granddaddy of all cliché career lessons. When you’ve
failed at something—particularly something that you really, desperately
wanted—it’s all too easy to picture the entire world crumbling down around you
like a scene from Independence Day. This is it. You’ll never get
past this.
But, if you take one thing from this article, it should be this: The
world does not stop turning simply because things didn’t pan out the way you
wanted them to. In fact, once you take a minute to breathe deeply and collect
yourself, you’ll likely realize that this glitch doesn’t have the devastating
and catastrophic effect that you like to think it does when you’re hyped up and
over-sensitized.
Yes, life really goes on. And, you need to, too.
I won’t deny it—failure is a tough pill to swallow. It can be pretty brutal, and
definitely enough to knock the wind right out of your sails. Believe me, I get
it.
But, as with anything, there are helpful lessons to be taken from those
situations that tie your stomach into knots and make your eyes well with tears.
It’s up to you to glean what you can from them.
Personally, I could write a novel about the many, many setbacks I’ve
experienced throughout my life. But, you know what else I could fill those
pages with? My successes. And, now that I think about it, those wins were all
results of tweaking my approach after previous failures. So, while failing
might never be fun, you can bet it will always be valuable.
By Kat Boogaard
https://www.themuse.com/advice/corny-but-so-true-3-life-lessons-failure-teaches-you?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=botw_05222016&utm_source=blueshift&utm_term=bsft_&utm_content=botw_sunday&bsft_eid=ac4c38b6-b90b-413e-8c4e-a3b96f23d66f&bsft_clkid=469ad8b8-9a76-416f-8baa-9621e2b494b6&bsft_uid=d4f9562c-4347-49cb-9544-373dd1f2b1f3
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