Anatomy of Frustration: What is your definition of failure?
Failure is one most single factor responsible for frustration and stress personally and professionally.
What is your definition of failure? This is a legitimate concern that a lot of people have as they progress through the corridors of life. It is significant to respond to this concern as candid as possible.
As a Husband, Father, Pastor and Success facilitator, this is one of the concerns that I get bombarded with every now and then. Over the years I have become fascinated with success and in the process of my quest and studies I have come to know the other side of success called failure.
Now to aspire for success without ever experiencing some failure or temporary detours is to be naïve. With that said how do I define failure? Before responding I’d like to reiterate that how you define failure and events ultimately affects your perspectives, outlook and your relationship to those things or events in your life. It is therefore, important to revaluate your definition.
“You may have failed in some things but you are not a failure, for failure is just but an event that occurred in your pursuit of success personally or professionally.” Richard Onebamoi. Winston Churchill observed, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” It is of utmost importance to reiterate that you cannot travel the road to success without experiencing some temporary setbacks, detours or errors of judgment.
Most people are frustrated and stressed because of their definition of failure that eventually frames their thinking, perception and understanding. It is not the failure but their perspective and meaning they attach to it. Some individuals like Apostle Peter failed the Lord three times before the cockcrow; Abraham Lincoln failed six attempts at political office before becoming America's sixteenth President. Thomas Edison experienced thousands of failed attempts at producing a viable filament for the incandescent bulb over 1000 times. All these men went on to accomplish great things in their lifetime.
How we look at life and failures makes a difference. This explains why some people fail and go on to achieve great things in their lives and others never fulfil their God given destiny. Don't just give up when you encounter challenges and experience failure. You must forge ahead. Persistence is what gives losers a winner's edge. It makes winners out of losers and quitters. Successful people are not individuals who haven’t failed or frustrated at one time or the other but individual who through learning and persistence have transformed their failures into productivity and the power to succeed. What is your excuse?
Here are some definitions from great thinkers on the subject of failure:
“Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” Zig Zigglar
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” C.S. Lewis
“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.” Walter Brunell
“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.” Tom Krause
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell
“I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong” Benjamin Franklin
“We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn't. Success often lies just the other side of failure.” Leo F. Buscaglia
How about you - how would you define failure? Go ahead take a shot at it! And I will see you at the top.
What is your definition of failure? This is a legitimate concern that a lot of people have as they progress through the corridors of life. It is significant to respond to this concern as candid as possible.
As a Husband, Father, Pastor and Success facilitator, this is one of the concerns that I get bombarded with every now and then. Over the years I have become fascinated with success and in the process of my quest and studies I have come to know the other side of success called failure.
Now to aspire for success without ever experiencing some failure or temporary detours is to be naïve. With that said how do I define failure? Before responding I’d like to reiterate that how you define failure and events ultimately affects your perspectives, outlook and your relationship to those things or events in your life. It is therefore, important to revaluate your definition.
“You may have failed in some things but you are not a failure, for failure is just but an event that occurred in your pursuit of success personally or professionally.” Richard Onebamoi. Winston Churchill observed, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” It is of utmost importance to reiterate that you cannot travel the road to success without experiencing some temporary setbacks, detours or errors of judgment.
Most people are frustrated and stressed because of their definition of failure that eventually frames their thinking, perception and understanding. It is not the failure but their perspective and meaning they attach to it. Some individuals like Apostle Peter failed the Lord three times before the cockcrow; Abraham Lincoln failed six attempts at political office before becoming America's sixteenth President. Thomas Edison experienced thousands of failed attempts at producing a viable filament for the incandescent bulb over 1000 times. All these men went on to accomplish great things in their lifetime.
How we look at life and failures makes a difference. This explains why some people fail and go on to achieve great things in their lives and others never fulfil their God given destiny. Don't just give up when you encounter challenges and experience failure. You must forge ahead. Persistence is what gives losers a winner's edge. It makes winners out of losers and quitters. Successful people are not individuals who haven’t failed or frustrated at one time or the other but individual who through learning and persistence have transformed their failures into productivity and the power to succeed. What is your excuse?
Here are some definitions from great thinkers on the subject of failure:
“Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” Zig Zigglar
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” C.S. Lewis
“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.” Walter Brunell
“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.” Tom Krause
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell
“I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong” Benjamin Franklin
“We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn't. Success often lies just the other side of failure.” Leo F. Buscaglia
How about you - how would you define failure? Go ahead take a shot at it! And I will see you at the top.
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7/17/2008 04:37:00 PM
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4 comments:
There are some good encouraging words here. I like to focus on the positive though. I like to focus not on failure and it's causes but on success. I figure I'll gravitate towards what I focus on so I better focus on what I want!
Thank you Paul for your kind words and sharing your invaluable thoughts. I do agree with you that what you focus on ultimately becomes your reality. Failing is part of the process to success, your response to it by focusing on the failure is what sets the winners from the whiners, the achievers from non-achievers.
The successful always say that there is no such thing as failure. In fact they see failure as a learning opportunity. so i guess how we define the word and what it means to us is the greatest obstacle to accomplishing anything. Would it not be a good idea if the word did not exist in our vocabulary?
Awesome post! In my book, you only fail when you stop trying. :)
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