Failing does not make me a Failure

Sorry...today my brain is lagging. So another one of my old ramblings that I've recycled.

I found another one of Maxwell's books - "Failing Forward". It is another one of those motivational books and this time, how to turn mistakes into stepping stones for success. Again, the attraction of his books is that he put things across very simply, and yet, if you really think about it, it's pretty deep stuff. I like the part about "Rules for Being Human". As long as you are human, you are bound to make mistakes.

Rule

#1: You will learn lessons [whether you like it or not. Experience can either be a good or bad teacher. It's what you take away that counts.]

#2: There are no mistakes - only lessons ( you keep making 'mistakes because you got nothing from #1)That will depend on how much you want to learn. If ego stands in the way, sigh...

#3: A lesson is repeated until it is learned. ( In the school of hard knocks, students pick this up as it is faster)

#4: If you don't learn the easy lessons, they get harder (pain is the best teacher huh? Why do we tend to shortchange ourselves?)

#5: The moment your actions change, you know you have learned a lesson. (if not you will go back to #3).


Come to think of it, no one can actually graduate from the school from hard knocks. It is a life long compulsory education for everyone. We humans seem to have very short memories...(hehehe...why do some women have many kids even though the labour pains are horrendous? Oppps...that's not a mistake)

But the way you react in this school of experience determines whether you pass or fail the various tests you go through in life. And if you learn your lesson well, you will be able to stand firm in the face of many adversities that come your way.You will not be likely to throw in the towel so easily.


Does failing make you a failure?
All humans are flawed, and we make mistakes. No one is infalliable. No one is perfect. You know that there is absolutely no one is this world who is flawless. So you know that you will make mistakes -both big and small ones. So by right, there is no one in this world who has the right to call another person a 'FAILURE' !

Granted...we cannot be good at everything. Before we excel, we must fail a few times...it's like children who will fall many, many times before they learn to walk and run.

Take a lesson from the young ones...they will pick themselves up over and over again beause they DO NOT FEAR TO FAIL. (it is the parents who actually instil the fear in them when they become too protective, or when they fall and hurt themselves very badly...they'll stop for a while)

I like this saying from the book..."Don't cry over spilt milk...it really doesn't matter how much milk you spill as long as you don't lose your cows."...In our society, which is so geared towards excellence and perfection, have we learned to prepared ourselves for failing?

Sadly, nothing much have been done to help people to learn how to fall the right way. Society itself has been too critical and too quick to judge. And if the person who makes that mistake also perceives that way, then he will be a failure. The danger is that this stigma can be carried for life.

If your mind is set to 'failure' as its default mode, you will always never be satisfied in life. Do not allow yourself to do this each time you 'fail' to get something done right...whether it is exams results, a relationship that did not work, differences in opinions with parents, criticism from people higher up...and many more. It is usually the action that failed, not the character. Don't let your sense of self-worth be devalued.

Well...that's my two cents worth for today. It's back to telling myself about choice, responsibility and attitude. If I do something wrong, I will search for the reason with my own self first. I will take responsibility for the actions I have done. I learn, and I will improve.