Author: Davoraldo

Many writers, based on their own experiences, expressed the universal truth that the only way to reach a worthwhile goal is through numerous failures and disappointments. This is the way the world works. Failures are the only way to learn enough to do it right in the end. So, if you are decisive to achieve something meaningful in your life, failures will come your way. It is how you react to failure that makes the difference between never reaching your goal and eventually reaching it. We have to learn to fail in order to learn to succeed. Therefore, changing your perspective on failures is crucial.

1. Failure is unavoidable
It is the way the world functions. If you want to achieve something, you will have to put up with a few failures before you get there. It is obligatory. There is no way around it. Sooner you accept failures as an unavoidable part of your journey, the easier it becomes to deal with them. Be sure, failure will happen. And the more successful you are, the more frequently you will fail.

2. Failure is an event, not a person.
When failure appears, we identify it as us. We relate the failure with ourselves. We internalize the failure to the degree that we emotionally attach it to ourselves. The message is clear: We are the failure. This is a wrong perspective. Failure is merely an event, not a person. Failure is never a person. It is nothing more than just a bad action that has occurred and it can be repeated and improved.

3. Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. (Zig Ziglar)
We should consider failures as a temporary setback, a detour. Otherwise, the first time you fail you think it is all over. It is not. Failure is like a delay, not a final result. A lost battle, not a war. Unfortunately, we are inclined to equal the failure with a final defeat. If success is to be considered not as a destination but a journey, then failures are also not final.

4. Let failure be your inspiration
We need to become a bit more stubborn and take failures as challenges. Robert T. Kiyosaki wrote that: “Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.” This is so true. Next time you fail, make it a personal challenge. Let the failure inspire you to do better, to be more intelligent next time. Failures may just be the motivation you need. Individuals who are able to constantly see failures as challenges are born winners. This skill allows them to welcome failures in their life and not to be bothered about them too much. It excites them to have another opportunity to learn, push stronger and work harder.

5. Failure is an opportunity to learn
Failure should be our teacher. Every failure represents an opportunity to learn how not to do something or approach someone. If you do not fail, you can never know what will not work. As Humphrey Davy said: “The most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by my failures.” Also, remember Thomas Edison and his light bulb.

6. Failure is a trial and error.
Charles F. Kettering wrote that inventors treat their failures merely as practice shots – they may fail 999 times, but if they succeed once, they are in. We should always consider failures as trial and error activity on our path toward the desired objective. Each attempt is just an exercise. Remember when trying to learn math? It was trial and error. How about when your child was learning to walk? Trial and error. Imagine playing a game on your computer without a chance to start over again. Failure is never a “game over” mode. It is more like a “play again” mode.

7. The only failure is not attempting
The only true failure is not trying. A comment from Wayne Gretzky best sums up this idea: ” You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I can hardly think of anything worth adding to this statement.

People are capable of amazing achievements, but only when they put failure into the right perspective. Changing your perspective on personal failures may significantly alter your life.

As you could notice, most of the above points I have learnt from reading quotes and sayings from different authors. These have taught me a lot about how to perceive failures and how to deal with them. Today, I consider failure as just another step toward my goals. Life became much easier to bear and an experience more pleasant than before.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/changing-your-perspective-on-failure-7-ways-how-to-perceive-personal-failures-5750361.html

About the Author

I encourage you to consider quotes and sayings about failure and see what other people have written on this subject. See if you can learn something from their perspectives. QuotesHut.com, a free personal online collection of quotes, sayings, proverbs and verses, may provide you with other ideas for your life as well.