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Life is hard.
That’s a statement that becomes true for absolutely everybody at some point or another.
It is almost impossible to go through life without at least one form of setback or failure, and that’s okay.
Failure is a word we’ve been raised to fear, conditioned to see it as bad.
But trying to avoid something unavoidable, which we deem as terrible, is not healthy for us.
It is important to change your mindset when it comes to failure, so you can see it as a learning experience, and more of a turning point rather than the end of a venture.
Failure can come in a variety of ways, in something small and seemingly insignificant, or in something big that impacts the course of your life.
Either way, it is important to learn a method of coping with failure and bouncing back from it.
“Fear of failure” is a very real thing and it stops people from taking risks that might lead to success.
That is why it is also extremely important to learn to see beyond the risk of failure.
Bouncing back from failure is all about managing the negative emotions that come along with not having accomplished a certain goal or task, and about changing your mindset to learn from the experience and use it to strengthen your chances at the next attempt.
How To Bounce Back From Failure
Change Your Mindset About Failure
Most of us have been conditioned from a very young age to think of setbacks as failures.
If we don’t succeed on the first try, we’ve failed. If something has gone wrong or we haven’t reached the goal, it’s classed as failing.
The problem with this is that we’ve come to understand failure as an end result.
Success is reaching a goal or aim, but it doesn’t necessarily mean reaching that goal or aim on your first try.
Success can take as long as you need it.
This means that if you don’t accomplish your goal straight away, it doesn’t mean you haven’t succeeded.
It just means you haven’t succeeded yet.
Classing setbacks as a failure might be highly discouraging, and for many, it leads to giving up on the goal altogether.
If you fail, try and change your mindset about what it signifies. It is not the end result.
Try and get used to seeing failure as an indicator of a singular attempt out of many.
The next time you try, your chances of success will be slightly higher, because you will have gained experience and will therefore have adapted your approach to succeeding.
Failures are the different stepping stones on your journey to success.
For some, this journey might be longer, but it is just as worthy, and the success is just as valid.
If fact, the longer it takes you to get there, the more endurance and strength you’ve proven to have because you have resisted the urge to give up along the way.
Learn From What Went Wrong
When you fail, the first thing to do after understanding that failure is a stepping stone and not the end, is to analyze.
You need to understand the things that went wrong so that you can adapt your next approach and improve your chances.
Use failure as a learning experience.
There are many different ways to do this, and you can try out different ones until you find the one that works for you.
Here are 3 options to get you started.
#1. Making a list of strengths and weaknesses.
This is a very good exercise that works for a lot of people.
It’s as simple as making two separate lists, one with your strengths and one with your weaknesses.
Evaluate what you did well, and what you did wrong.
This way you can enhance the strengths on your next attempt, and you can develop a plan of action that avoids the mistakes you made.
The balance of good and bad also psychologically helps you realize that it isn’t all or nothing, it isn’t as simple as success or failure. It is a journey.
#2. Seek advice.
Some people can struggle with self-analyzing or exploring their own actions, so it can be extremely helpful to seek advice from others.
This way you can get an outsider’s perspective, and see things more objectively.
It might also help you spot strengths or weaknesses that you couldn’t see about yourself.
However, make sure that the person you seek advice from is trustworthy and is someone that is looking out for you with good intentions!
#3. Develop a plan.
For some people, what helps is forming a plan of action.
It not only distracts you from the negative emotions that come with failure, it also keeps you moving forward.
Having a plan can also help steady anxiety and doubts, so it is a good way of sticking to yourself and moving on towards a possible success.
Motivation And Renewed Approach
Once you’ve analyzed the factors that have led to failing, and once you’ve understood what things need to be tweaked in order to improve your chances of success on the next try, it’s time to hype yourself up.
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Trying again and again, can be extremely hard and mentally exhausting, so it’s vital that you find ways to keep feeling hopeful and motivated.
If your motivation dies, the chances of giving up will be really high.
A good way of keeping up your motivation and renewing your desire for success is to remind yourself of why you want to accomplish that specific goal or aim.
Make a list of reasons why you want it, and why it benefits you.
Will it improve your life? Will it make you happy? Will it help you or others? Why is it important?
If it feels insignificant, you won’t have the same urge to fight for it, so you need to evaluate what makes it significant and meaningful, and then place it as a priority.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to bounce back from failure is a critical trait to have in life.
Failing makes us think of an end result. You haven’t reached success so that’s it, that’s the end of the road.
However, failure is just a stepping stone on the long road that leads to success.
You are allowed to keep trying again and again until you achieve it, especially if your goals and aims are important to you.
It’s important that you change your mindset when it comes to failure, and that you see it not as a cause to give up, but as a learning experience.
Once you’ve failed, you can analyze the factors that have led to such an outcome, and you can adapt and change your approach so that your chances of success are improved for your next attempt.
If you fail you need to try again. If you fail again, you try yet again. The only true failure is giving up.
Jon Dulin is the passionate leader of Unfinished Success, a personal development website that inspires people to take control of their own lives and reach their full potential. His commitment to helping others achieve greatness shines through in everything he does. He’s an unstoppable force with lots of wisdom, creativity, and enthusiasm – all focused on helping others build a better future. Jon enjoys writing articles about productivity, goal setting, self-development, and mindset. He also uses quotes and affirmations to help motivate and inspire himself. You can learn more about him on his About page.