Have you failed before and wished the earth could open up and swallow you?
I have failed before, so many times. And I have learned a valuable lesson in the process.

Failure is a word used to define a stage. It is not

• a condemnation of character

• a permanent condition

• a fatal flaw

It is a judgement about an event. It can happen at any stage in your life, to you and to any one you know. I believe failure is a benevolent teacher who, if listened to appropriately, will get you back on track.

1. Compassion and Humility
   Failure strips away your veneer of pretence, leaving you exposed. It reintroduces you to your humanity. And it forces you to reassess your place in the universe.

2. Reordering of Priorities

   Failure makes you realise you will not live forever. Every setback you experience is a 'little death' that makes you wonder where the balance is in your life. Even if this wondering is done 'sotto voce'.

   Failure is a turning point that forces you to examine your life. And, it is only then that you can be open to change.

3. Sense of Power

   When you have lost money, approval in the eyes of others, self-esteem, shelter, and friendship, what kind of power do you have? You have the power of your mind, which translate into
4. the power to figure out what went wrong and to correct it

5. the power to reinterpert what happened to you and put it in the most enabling scenario possible

6. the power to reinvent yourself by
   • reinterpreting your story
   • relabeling yourself
   • expanding your options

7. options before you if you choose to see them

The very thing that seems to render you powerless can, if viewed rightly bestow an inner power that no one can take away.

What am I asking you to make out of this?
If there is one lesson I want you to take away with you it is that failure can only render you powerless if you let it. To become aware of the power that failure gifts you with, you will require a reorientatin of thought. How do you do this?

1. refuse to feel like a failure or victim

2. take responsibility for your life

3. forgive yourself

4. understand that you can change

As for me, I appreciate all the failures I have had.