3 Ways to Move Past Failure

By Wallette V. McCall

There are a lot of emotions at play when it comes to failure. Making a mistake can literally make us sick to our stomach. Remembering how we failed to meet our goal or accomplish our dreams brings back that uncomfortable feeling. Even if we desire go for the same goal or something new, we find ourselves never wanting to experience the emotions that come with failing again.

And the fact that others know we failed makes it even worse. We believe that we have disappointed others who were depending on our success and we don't want to let them down again. The pain, disappointment, and embarrassment of the past make us afraid to step out and try again. So how do you move past failure?

1) Forgive yourself. We always think about forgiving others but we never think about forgiving ourselves for the mistakes we've made. To move forward you must forgive yourself for your part in the outcome. An easy way of doing this is looking in the mirror and saying to your reflection "I forgive you". Doing this relieves you of the burden of being angry or disappointed with yourself and gives you the permission to move forward.

2) Stop focusing on your failure. This is the worst thing you can do because it will compound into more failure in the future. If you are constantly telling yourself that you are going to fail because of what happened in the past, you will end up staying stuck where you are.

3) Never give up on yourself! Encourage yourself. There is power in your thinking. When you fall, get back up. When thoughts tell you why can't do it, tell them why you can. Keep moving, keep pushing. The only thing that can stop you from moving forward is you.

Bouncing back from failure is possible. Your "failure" can actually qualify you to handle challenges that may come in the future. Not only can we learn from the failure we experienced, but we can develop something special about ourselves. We can personally grow from the experience. See it as a teaching moment. Use the failure to find more about yourself, your situation, and how it applies to what you want to do in your life. Make the failure count. Use the lessons learned to your advantage.

Don't let failure be the final word. You may have failed in the past but next time you can succeed! Remember, people who rarely fail are usually the ones who never do anything