I talk to a lot of people about failure.
Failure has all the qualities to make us worry about what other people will think, what it will mean about us, our status and our future.
The preoccupation is huge, and it all revolves around perception.
Here’s the thing, failure is nothing more than a subjective goal that you either complete or you don’t.
It’s the same as success.
Both are relative concepts, even If 99% of the group believes it’s absolutely true, it’s still subjective. The 99% are just conforming to social norms, which are also human constructs.
Here are some other ways to think about ‘failure’.
• It’s only the end when you give up, until then it’s just experience, and experience is coveted.
• ‘Failure’ brings with it the opportunity to practice other skills that will serve you long after the initial task at hand. Consider resilience and tenacity.
• If you don’t ‘fail’ on occasion, the chances are you’re not being bold enough.
I know we all have preferences for certain outcomes, and it can feel uncomfortable.
But it’s just a feeling, it too will pass.