Failure is an Option
The Gamble of Life
The word Success is used so often that it has lost much of its meaning. Destination success is stamped on every human’s passport the moment they are born. The obsession with the end result causes many to take the safe route, risk very little, feel unfulfilled, but oh that is the price of success. However, is it really? To answer that, we must first ask what is success?
Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, as defined in the dictionary. Thus, to achieve success one must have an aim or a purpose. That purpose depends on the individual; however, generally speaking satisfaction is all what we seek. Satisfaction with our wealth, level of comfort, partner, social circle, careers, health, and safety. Thus, for the majority of humans satisfaction is the purpose for which we seek success. However, if one is not satisfied in any aspect of their life, how can they be successful. To be truly successful, one must satisfy every aspect of their life, and not just one. How can someone go about doing that without taking any risk? To attempt at success is to take risk by its very nature.
If someone goes to college, gets a nine to five, and absolutely despises the job then they are not successful really, despite what the paycheck might say. Thus, it is necessary to take risks. However, what does risk mean? Risk means a probability of failure. Therefore, the probability of success comes with a probability of failure. Two sides, one coin.
Unfortunately, the long standing obsession with success alone means that failure is seen with disgust and dread. However, the probability of failure is always highest right at the beginning of a risk, since the circumstances which lead up to failure and the lessons needed to avoid failure have not been learned yet. Those courses can only be taken during a period of failure. Furthermore, the obsession with success can sometimes blind individuals going through a period of failure. A big paycheck and an unsatisfied family life is a sign of failure, the fanciest vehicle cannot satisfy the need for human affection no matter how much one tries. Recognizing failure is the first unit in the course of success. A person who fails a thousand times has a high probability of success than someone who has never failed. Thus, rather then fearing failure it must be looked at for what it is — a teacher.
A positive growth mindset is understand and analyzing failure to implement changes which will increase the probability of success. Optimism is not the blindness to failure, instead it is the courage to learn, grow, change, and push on towards success. The process, the journey, that is what the great stories talk about. The Odyssey was ten years of bad directions and unfortunate events, but that is what made it an Epic. If the hero had simply returned home the day after sacking Troy then the neither would he have grown nor we have learned.
Self belief, self worth, a heart of courage, a positive growth mindset, reflection, and the discipline to implement are mastered through failure. If one truly desires success, then one must risk failure. All life is a gamble, the chips are time, the cost is regret, and the win is the journey.
