Glorious Failure…Can there be such a thing?

If so, what do we learn? Listen here

We often hear the term used and sadly Sunday night was a classic example. Strangely the term is one of the best examples of an oxymoron that you can find!
Let’s consider the meaning…Glorious (having, worthy of, or bringing fame or admiration) and failure… (an unsuccessful person, enterprise, or thing) …Mmmm, where do we start!?

If we consider the Euro’s Final game that had the nation on the edge of their seats. A young and emerging team that have been role models in so many ways to all of us. A team that had a clear feeling of unity and purpose, a special bond. A Manager that was a Leader throughout and who conducted himself in exemplary fashion.
So many positives that we can take forwards.  Let’s consider just three.

  1. Someone who has experienced failure understands that success is never guaranteed and recognizes that failure can happen due to factors outside their control. Knowing failure is always a possibility—you learn to not let the fear of failure hold you back.
  2. For most people, failure can damage their motivation and makes them feel like giving up. However, for people with the right mindset, failure can be a great source of motivation.
When you experience a significant failure, it may feel like the end of your world. You feel like you have missed out on some of your dreams, whereas going through major failure can be the making of you.

If you are prepared to learn, and learn from the failures of some of the world’s most successful people, you will realise that failure is not final. When Steve Jobs was kicked out of the company he started in his parent’s garage, it felt like the world had come to an end for him…He ended up being CEO of Apple! Walt Disney experienced his first failure after being fired from a newspaper for “not being creative enough.” He then started a company that failed as well…The rest is history!

  1. Success can have its own issues! Often and after achieving a series of successes, most people allow the success to get to their heads. It makes you feel invincible, like everything you do was meant to be a success. While a positive mindset is so important, making good and balanced decisions is vital.

Stay humble, learn from failure, and never stop developing.

“You will learn more from a glorious failure than ever you will from something that you never finished.”
Neil Gaiman