Feature: Turning Failures into Possibilities

By Timothy A. Edward

In a world where success is often showcased without the struggles behind it, it is essential to understand that failure is an integral part of the journey. In a real sense, we need to consider it a sheer opportunity, when tests, challenges and failures come our way. Because under pressure, our true colours come out. In every adversity there is an opportunity to grow our mindset, resilience and self-efficacy. 

Think for a moment. We all like to hang around successful people.  Why? Because they seem to make things happen. Irrespective of the difficulties and challenges, this kind of species always seems to find the winning edge, make the impossible possible and turn failures into victories. What is their secret to success?

My work brings me in contact with successful businesspeople. Some own big blue-chip companies.  Others are either medium or small entrepreneurs.  Yet one thing that I see in common among them is that they do not consider themselves as failures.  They concentrate on their strengths. They are not afraid to try new things on the evidence of research and knowledge.  They try to understand why something did not work out, and then they are prepared to make that required change.  They brainstorm and try new things out. They are not afraid to invest and evolve.  They are not afraid of failures. They call it ‘piloting new products and services’, and keep moving forward.   

Success Takes Time

No one becomes a success overnight.  All successful people have walked through the land of failure.  But the differentiating factor is how they perceive and respond to failure.  They do not see failure as an end in itself, but rather make it a stepping stone for greater achievements.

As we come to the end of another eventful year, maybe you have gone through a lot of negative experiences. Do not allow those negative experiences to overwhelm and keep you in the ditch. Turn all those negative experiences into steps of the ladder called ‘progress’ that will bring you out of the pit-hell that you might be finding yourself in, right now. Strengthen yourself in the knowledge that a lot of raw failure goes into the making of beautiful success stories.

Learning and the Big Picture

Failures and setbacks will teach us a lot of positive things, if we are willing to learn.  For this, we need to have the right attitude to learn. We need to take responsibility and learn from each mistake, knowing that failure is only part and parcel of progress. Things will not change, just because we change the circumstances.  The real change has to happen inside of us. It is about maintaining a positive attitude despite setbacks and difficulties and taking new calculated risks based on learning.

The secret is focusing on the big picture, the vision and mission of our lives. In any big picture, failures, setbacks and challenges are deeply embedded.  However, we should not focus on those setbacks; rather, we need to keep our eyes and minds on the big picture.  This is why understanding the big picture and having a good grasp and knowledge of our vision and mission in life is so important.

Responding to Life Experiences

All of us are unique beings, and have something unique to contribute to this society and the world. The truth is, life is good at throwing errors and negative experiences at us. But we should not respond to them incorrectly.  When we continuously respond to negative life experiences in the wrong manner, that is when they tend to cling on to our minds as failures.  Rather, in life we should be purpose-driven and overcome misfortunes by rising above them.

If we are to become successful in life, we need to learn the art of looking at failures as isolated incidents, only momentary events, not as lifelong phenomena. Let us not allow setbacks to colour our entire life but be determined to cultivate a positive attitude about ourselves. Maybe 2024 was a tough year, full of adversity, rejection and failures.  But, do not allow those circumstances to devalue your worth. No matter how often you stumble and fail, do not stay down for too long. Remember, we are here on earth today, because we are born to achieve greatness in business, entrepreneurship, education, medicine, law, government, music, media, management – whatever our calling in life may be. To bring about positive changes, influence and make this world become a better place for all of us.

As we end the year 2024, let us remain steadfast in our vision, and strive to make a positive impact in our respective fields. Remember, every setback is only a stepping stone to greater achievements, and with determination and resilience, we can turn our failures into victories.