Chapter Twenty One

Bounce Back from Failures

Everyone has their own fears but the common fear for most of us is the fear of failure. Do we analyse why we fail? Most people don’t address this question when they fail. But they constantly brood over their failures. Everyone faces failures; failure is a part of life. It is just like an incident or an event which occurs sometimes in our lives.

People Who Have Failed

There are many successful people and great leaders who faced several failures in their lives initially. Here, we will discuss the leader who failed several times in his life. He failed in business twice—at the age of 21 years and again at the age of 24. He lost his lover at the age of 26 years and had a nervous breakdown at the age of 27. He failed to become the vice president at the age of 47. After many failures, he became the first Republican and the 16^th President of America at the age of 52. He was none other than Abraham Lincoln. Edison was a great scientist who failed a number of times to invent the light bulb. He never ascribed them as failures but treated them as the different methods of work that had not worked to invent the light bulb. Winston Churchill had several failures but he ultimately succeeded, by displaying his positive qualities during the Second World War.

Reasons for Failures

Why do people fail? It is due to various reasons such as identifying the wrong passions, setting wrong priorities, working hard in wrong areas, inventing excuses for not working, blaming circumstances, giving in to temptations, associating with the wrong individuals, wandering aimlessly, wasting precious resources, being overconfident and so on. Here are some more reasons for failures:

• People often ape others blindly without assessing their capabilities and competencies. This makes them fail. What worked for others might not work for you. Once you follow others, it leads to heavy competition and you may end up losing the race. Hence, look at your passions and follow the path where there is the least competition. This will help you come out with flying colours.
• Don’t build castles in the air. Be practical in your ideas and approaches. Count the cost before you venture into something new. Take inputs and ideas from others and plunge into a project after weighing the pros and cons.
• The main reason for failure is distractions. There are mainly two types of distractions—internal and external distractions. Internal distractions are nothing but distractions created by people themselves. In contrast, external distractions are distractions created by external forces which are beyond human control.

The Significance of Failures

Henry Ford rightly said, ‘Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently’. There are several advantages out of failures. People become tougher and wiser from failures. They realize what does not work for them and design their strategies accordingly. They become more mature and humble. They think things through a number of times and make decisions accordingly. They prefer to go more by head than heart. In fact, growth after failure is phenomenal as people become better decision-makers. Above all, once people have overcome the fear of failures, they become strong hearted.

Tips to Bounce Back from Failures

Here are a few tips to help you bounce back from failures:

• Review, revise and rectify your failure. These are three things people should do when confronted with failures. First review, i.e., analyse where you have failed. Discuss your failures with your family members and friends to get some inputs. The second step is to revise, i.e., to modify your plans and your approach towards the task. And the third step is to rectify your mistakes.
• Be patient when you fail. Take stock of the situation. Think that you have gone back by a step to leap forward with more steps. Remember that every dog has its day. One day it will be your day and you will be on the top of the world. Napoleon Hill rightly said, ‘Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success’.
• Struggle until you achieve success. Struggle helps people become stronger and tougher to face any kind of challenges. Without struggle, nothing can be achieved. Here is an example which shows what would happen without struggle: There was a butterfly which was trying to come out of its cocoon. A person saw the butterfly struggling to come out of the cocoon and thought it needed help. So the person helped the butterfly. After sometime, the butterfly died as its wings were not strong enough to fly. When it was struggling to come out of the cocoon, this was the time for its wings to get stronger to make it ready to fly. This story shows us that we must work hard. The more you work hard the tougher you become and the closer you reach towards success.
• Be strong mentally to handle any situation. Here goes the story of a person who was weak in handling failure: Once there was a businessman who was rich. One day he met with an accident and his hands and legs were fractured. He handed over his business to his relatives. He trusted them and neglected his business. He recovered from his injury after six months. When he went back to his business, he was in debt because his relatives had swindled all the investors. He was not able to regain his losses, and finally he had a nervous breakdown from which he never recovered. Don’t take failure personally. Be tough like a tide. Always remember that failure is not final.
• Have the courage to encounter challenges. The one who is confident can reach the pinnacle of success. Winston Churchill once said, ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts’.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, ‘Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat’. Success is not eternal and the same goes for failure. There is one thing which hinders the progress of people. It is the fear of failure. When people learn swimming, they should not fear drowning. Therefore, put an end to your fears. People will be successful only when they can absorb shocks and setbacks. Failure is a tough teacher but it is a great teacher. Have a healthy attitude towards failures and learn lessons to succeed in your life.