No Such Thing as Failure; Only Feedback
Now that you have recognized that perhaps some of your difficulties thrown onto your path are part of a Divine curriculum (from previous posts such as Master Your Life Lessons), you may put yourself in a state of review. In your analysis, you may be tempted to perceive yourself as a complete failure in all your “tests”; especially if you have not managed to transcend the repeated patterns.
(photo by julianne.hide)
Before you proceed to beat yourself up, consider this often quoted Neuro-Linguistic Programming supposition: There is No Such Thing as Failure, Only Feedback.
Success Stories About Failure
What is failure anywhere? Failure is commonly said to be the lack of success. However, this definition offers a narrow, limited and negative perspective. More practically, failure is about giving up and not trying. If you think about it, failure often comes before the success. It is very much a part of the success journey.
Trials are not construed as failures by those who have succeeded. In fact, they are opportunities to get things right. They are stepping stones to success. Learn from the likes of Donald Trump, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Kiyosaki, Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison; amongst others.
Real estate mogul, Donald Trump, had in the past repeatedly filed for bankruptcy. Abraham Lincoln went through multiple business and election failures before he was elected as President. Once extremely poor, Robert Kiyosaki now teaches people worldwide on how to multiply their wealth.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan – greatest basketball player of all time and businessman.
“I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” — Thomas Edison – scientist and businessman – when inventing the first commercially practical light bulb.
Each had picked themselves up and continued trying until they have made it.
How you respond to your challenges can impact your ultimate results. Failure is not about having no success to boast of. Failure is staying down when you trip or stumble. It happens when you give up, shut down or check out. It is when you allow yourself to be called a failure, whether by yourself or others.
“Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. it’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.”
— Barack Obama
Have You Really Failed?
When you call yourself a failure, you are essentially judging yourself. You are saying that you are not good enough. If you can take a step back or two, you will realize that it is not true. Engaging in self criticism is the doing of your ego. Ultimate freedom comes when you lose attachment to your ego-centered self and embrace your situations with plenty of love, grace and patience.
Trials present not to hurt you. They are there simply to help you grow. An understanding allows you to realize that your perception is just a representation of the actual situation. Your internal map is not the world. And perceptions can very well be flawed, when your mind is clouded and cluttered and your ego, inflated or deflated.
Obviously, it is not possible to rid yourself of your ego. Your ego is what has been bestowed on your soul for its advancement. Hence, you need to recognize the ego for what it is – essentially a tool or an aide for classroom learning in the school of life.
Rather than living a largely unaware existence, your intent is to create the life you want. It is about making conscious choices. You choose to put your Higher Self in charge rather than let your ego rule. You take the lessons for what they are and move on. If you give in to the ridiculous demands of your ego, life becomes an endless game of fear and survival.
Life As A Journey of Feedback
It is your reactions to your endless trials that help you develop a deepened consciousness about life and who you are at source. Your responses to the life situation at hand provide a good gauge of what your strengths and weaknesses are. You lose your resistance, indignation and fear.
If a major catastrophic event presents itself, then understand that it is because your soul is ready for the next level of growth. So, you respond to the situation with grace. You meet your most difficult trial-to-date with courage.
A lightened perspective to things is also helpful. You laugh at the idiosynchrocies of life. You go “aha” when you catch yourself (or more rightly your ego) acting out in melodrama yet again! You smile knowingly of how you are being nudged by your spirit guides to look into specific areas for spiritual growth that you have overlooked previously!
Conclusion
I love this quote by Oscar Wilde….
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
It helps me put a positive reframe to my perspective of my challenges. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback. We learn as much from failures as we learn from successes.
(a photo shot that I took at Jacob Ballas Singapore Botanic Gardens)
Each trial in life is a lesson towards a greater evolvement of self. Each crisis is an opportunity to practice more love, compassion and care. Each of the exercises is placed on your path for a chance to be your Divine Self. Our major lessons revolve around living harmoniously with every moment of life, with temperance of the ego.
“Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.” — Corita Kent
Lastly, it helps to know that you are never alone when you go through your so-called trials. You can always call for spiritual assistance. Your call is made with an awareness of your Divinity. Your guides and angels are always available to help you. Be open to receiving with open arms, when Universal support comes.
Share your Feedback
Any thoughts about the topic of “failure”? Do you have any personal inspiring stories to share?
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