7 Keys to Overcoming Failure and Learning From It

Everyone experiences failure. It doesn’t matter how successful you are. Failure tests our strengths and we emerge as a stronger and better person.

Failure comes in different forms. You can experience failure in your professional life and your career. You can also experience failure in your personal life, experiencing issues with your relationships and with your children.

If you’re stuck in a rut, read these 7 key facts about overcoming failure. This guide helps handle the issues and states how to pick yourself up again.

1. Feel Your Emotions

During times of failure, it’s normal to feel intense emotions. These emotions include disappointment and despair. You’ll hate experiencing negativity, but it’s important to succumb to these emotions.

Holding back emotions can have negative effects. Your situation will worsen and can even affect you in the future.

When you feel strong emotions, stop what you’re doing and feel them. If you have to scream or cry, then do it.

Naming the emotions also helps. When you know the difference between sadness and anger, you’ll be more in-tune with your emotions. You’ll have better control and you won’t lash out at other people.

2. Accept Your Failure

After you feel your emotions out, you can accept your failure. When the failure occurs, most people deny their situation or pretend like it never happened.

Accepting your failure is important because it’s the first step in overcoming your failure.

To help the process, write down everything. Describe the situation the best way you could. Then, identify any faults you made. Be as unbiased as possible. When you blame yourself or others, your negative emotions could cloud your focus.

If this helps, continue keeping a daily diary. Describe the way you feel and how you’re reflecting on the situation. This helps you organize your thoughts so you overcome your failure.

3. Find the Positives

Find any positives about your failure. Positive framing is a good tool because it helps you discover the positives in any situation. With failure, positive reframing helps you see the situation differently.

“Failure” is subjective, meaning you can define it however you want. Rather than see it as a negative experience, you’re turning failure into a positive experience.

Let’s say you didn’t get hired at a job. Rather than saying “I failed the interview” or “that was my only chance,” try saying “it wasn’t meant to be and I’ll find the perfect job soon.”

This doesn’t ignore the situation but it gives failure a new meaning.

4. Stop Ruminating

Do you replay your failure constantly? This one an unhealthy way of dealing with failure. Sometimes, it’s inevitable. We feel terrible and we play the situation in our minds.

But this only attracts negative emotions and we don’t overcome the hardship.

When you ruminate your situation, try and stop yourself. Focus on positive reframing.

Think of ways you can improve or provide insight into the situation. If this doesn’t help, think of ways the situation could have gone differently or better.

Keeping a journal of your emotions will prevent ruminating your failure. You’ll feel relief and get more closure on the situation.

5. Know the Cause of Your Failure

If dealing with the emotions doesn’t help, get to the root of the problem. Failure can easily be a learning experience. Identifying root causes helps you reflect on the situation and what you can do to better your future.

For example, maybe you were excelling in your career. But your drinking was becoming a problem, and your career went downhill.

You can also think of ways the failure could have been prevented. Using this same example, you’ll know you would have conquered your career goals if it wasn’t for your drinking.

When you recognize drinking was the catalyst for your failure, you can make changes in your life such as sobering up.

6. Start Setting Goals

After you reflect on your failure, it’s time to fix your future. You can’t go back to the past. But you can create a better future. To start, set some goals.

Make sure they’re as realistic as possible. Set an overall goal, whether it’s to get your life back together or conquer your failure.

You should also set short-term and long-term goals.

For example, let’s say you failed because your doctor said you’re obese. Make goals toward your health and weight loss. Your long-term goal can be your goal weight, while you’re short-term goals are your diet plans and workout routines.

Your goals should also include actions to make their goals happen.

Are you unsure of your goals? Reach out to people you trust. Ask them what goals will help you get your life back together.

7. Keep Trying

Chances are, this failure you experienced isn’t the only failure you’ll ever experience. Life is like a rollercoaster; we have our ups and downs. The only thing you can do is try and be the best version of yourself.

Remember these facts if you experience failure again. Feel your negative emotions, but also feel the positives. Write in a journal and set new goals. Reflect on failure as a growing experience, not a setback in your life.

If we lived life without failure, would life be worth living? If we didn’t grow out of failure a stronger person, how would we become better people? Ask yourself these questions and understand the hidden values of failure.

Overcoming Failure is a Blessing in Disguise

Failure is a blessing in disguise. Failure is often met with negative emotions and a bad situation. But overcoming failure also helps you become a better person and conquer hardships.

Everyone experiences failure. It’s up to you to feel empowered and make life worth living.

If a failure occurs, feel your emotions but try and see the positives. Keep track of your goals and write in a journal. Once you see failure as a blessing, you’ll appreciate the darker times as much as the good times.

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