Failing is How You Know What To Work on Next
Using failure as your life’s compass
No matter how many times you fail, it never gets easier.
When you think you’ve finally gotten used to it, you get hit with a failure bigger than you could have ever imagined.
It’s unavoidable.
The normal advice would be to say you should try to figure out how to make the best of your failures.
“Where is the silver lining in this failure?”
Or…
“What can I learn from this?”
I want to suggest a new approach.
You should use your failure as a compass. Use your failure to point you in the right direction.
You’ll know what to work on next
Every failure is different and each of them tends to offer valuable lessons. That is if you can spot the lessons.
Oftentimes, we think we got the lesson right and are wrong. This leaves us doomed to repeat the failure.
Yet again, this is another reason why you need to work on your self-awareness. It will help you spot these lessons immediately.
Now, if you have enough self-awareness, then you will get some sort of wisdom out of your failure. Use this wisdom to help yourself figure out what to work on next.
Your failure has revealed your weaknesses. This is the perfect place to start.
For example, let’s say you started a company. Unfortunately, it failed because you decided to be the CEO and led the company straight to the ground.
This could mean you need to work on your leadership skills (well, it definitely does), but it could also mean you need to work on your hiring skills because next time, you need to hire a leader right off the bat.
Not everyone is meant to be the #1 in a company. That’s okay as long as you are aware and know how to hire a #1.
Let me tell you for the 100th time. Self-awareness is key. That is how you will know what you need to work on next.
If you lack self-awareness, your failure will repeat itself.
Some sports comparisons for you
One of the best ways to figure out what to do with failure is to look at what athletes do. They have so many micro-failures each day which signal to them exactly what they need to work on.
They need failures because it is their compass.
A basketball player knows exactly where he needs to practice shooting because he takes so many shots per day.
An MMA fighter knows whether it’s their right cross, condition, takedown defence, or one of many other things that need attention because each time they spar, their failure leads to a punch to the face.
You might not be a professional athlete, but there is no reason you shouldn’t train like one.
If you take the same mentality to your approach with your studies, business or career, you will become a machine.
On your exams in university, you see what answers you got wrong. Now, you know what to work on.
In your business, you can see when your sales are lacking, when your marketing is failing or when your staff is losing you money. You can make adjustments based on your smaller failures in order to prevent a big one from ruining you.
Instead of beating yourself up for your failures, use them as a guide to fine-tune the details in whatever game you are playing.
What to avoid working on next
If you were able to be good at everything, life would be pretty damn boring.
Let me ask you a question… Would you rather be mediocre at a bunch of things or the best at a couple of things?
Most ultra-successful people focus on one or two things at a time. They know what they are good at and they work at becoming the best at that thing.
You’re going to hate this, but sometimes failure is telling you what you should avoid working on next.
Sometimes, failure is a compass telling you to back off and work on something different.
This doesn’t mean you should give up every time you fail.
The truth is, when you are working on something that you should not give up on even when you fail, you’ll know.
But, it does mean sometimes, you do need to move on and work on something that better utilizes your strengths.
Closing thoughts
Failure can be a hell of a teacher, and like some teachers, their toughness is exactly what you need.
Let this teacher guide you in the right direction. Sometimes the right direction is right back to what you were working on with a new perspective, insights and principles.
But oftentimes, it is the opposite way.
The more self-aware you are, the easier it’ll be to read your “failure compass” so you can head in the right direction.
Thanks for reading.