A Reminder That You Are Not Your Failures

The dreaded F word. Not fuck, failure.

We spend an awful lot of time talking about success. But what about when we don’t get there? When we don’t succeed on the first attempt? What if it takes 40, 50, 100 failed attempts before success reaches us?

No one really wants to talk about that, do they? Because failure makes us uncomfortable. You know how everyone always says teenagers think they’re invincible? It’s like that. They don’t want to think that bad things can happen to them. And we don’t want to think that failure can happen to us—so, we don’t talk about it.

But the truth is, just like every teenager, it’s inevitable that, one day, it will happen to us.

What’s the best practice for when failure finds you?

Don’t allow it to crush your spirit. Don’t let it break you. Instead, face it. Embrace it. Welcome it with open arms. Treat failure like your new best friend. You know what’s great about friends? They teach us things. Allow yourself to learn from your failures—and then, when it’s time, move past them. Let them go. Realize that, no matter how difficult the situation may be, you are not your failures.

Maybe you failed an exam. Or a job interview. Or you tried invest for the first time, Googled to see what the best lithium stocks to invest in were, made a big investment, and lost a lot of money. You failed, so what?

You’ll learn from it. You’ll grow. You’ll move past it. You’ll move forward. And, most importantly, you’ll move on.

Don’t let your failures define you, because they are not you.

You’re so much more than your failures—so go out there. Give it your best shot. Give it 100 shots if you have to.

As a close friend once said to me: Fail unapologetically and without hesitation. This is your new mantra.

Maybe it’ll take you 40, 50, or 100 attempts. Maybe it’ll take even more. But don’t let that stop you—because once success reaches you, it will be worth a thousand times more than all of your failures combined.