Saturday, December 02, 2006

Failure is Success in Disguise

Juris, a surgeon, was only three years old when he learned that one must fail in order to learn and to strive for more. However, such philosophizing was not known to him then as he was still too young. He only began to realize it as such when confronted with failure in his personal life and career.

His realization came hazily as his memories of such a tender age were faded by time. What he can remember though, is that he was always striving hard to learn how to bike. His mom and dad bought him a bike too big for his age and so he had difficulty in using the pedals.

Juris practiced his biking skills everyday, sometimes falling because he could not even reach the ground. While his bicycle had a handbrake, he could remember using his feet to stop his bike whenever he feels like it. Finally, his frustration has borne fruit because after weeks of daily practice, he has learned to stroll around the neighborhood with his bike.

Such a simple lesson from a child but every adult can learn so much from it. Our society has placed so much emphasis on success that failure has become a dirty and much-avoided word.

Others rely on positive thinking to keep failure at bay. While it helps, it also lulls a person into believing that nothing can go wrong, thus creating a false sense of security.

Failure may be a bitter pill to swallow but everyone must fail at one time in their lives. However, as Juris' experience has taught us, it is not the fact that you have failed that is important but the manner in which you have accepted and risen from such failure.

A person can either allow himself to be thwarted by failure, or he can use such failure to build up his determination to climb more mountains. What is important is that the experience of failing was not for naught, because the person who failed learned something from the experience.

Come visit me at my-health-approach.com I may have the solution for you.

Sher