The Art of Failure: The Power of Mistakes
Okay, let's not kid ourselves, failure sucks. It's a bit like that annoying friend who shows up unannounced and takes over your couch when you just wanted to have a quiet evening. But what if instead of kicking him out, you offered him a coffee and took the time to listen to him? Because, believe it or not, this failure cannonball might have some interesting things to say.
First, a little reminder: everyone messes up. EVERYONE. Even the bosses of this world. Do you think Michael Jordan came out of his mother's womb dribbling? That Steve Jobs never received a termination letter? Well, spoiler alert in case you still doubt it: these guys struggled.
Jordan got dropped from his high school team, and Jobs got kicked out of his own company (yes, Apple). And yet, look where they got to. Why? Because instead of crying in a corner like "My life is over," They rolled up their sleeves and learned from their mistakes.
Failure is like an alarm clock (except it doesn't go off at 6am and makes you want to throw it against the wall). It's like saying to you: Hey, maybe review your copy, huh?. And there, two choices: either you listen to him and you adjust your aim, or you continue as before and you take another wall in the face, as long as you reproduce exactly the same thing.
Then, let's be honest, failure is also great training for resilience. Okay, so at the moment you just want to curl up under a blanket and binge-watch a series until the world forgets you exist. But then you get up, take a deep breath, and try again.
Remember that time you wanted to cook that amazing dish you saw on Insta, but it ended up being more like a failed porridge experiment? Well, next time, you'll know to read the recipe all the way through before you start. It's the same in life: every obstacle, every little "fuck" in the process makes you a little smarter.
Another cool thing about failure is that it forces you to get out of your comfort zone. You know, that famous cozy bubble where nothing new happens and where you don't risk much. But if you want to progress, you have to dare.
Example: you sign up for a dance class even though you have no sense of rhythm or major coordination problems (like me, I'll tell you a little more about that later). The first session? A massacre. The second? A little less bad. And after a few weeks, miracle: you no longer step on everyone's toes and you even start to enjoy it!
True, a few years ago I took Zumba classes myself and I became a regular for a few years. I remember my first classes where my arm and leg coordination was a disaster. And I even asked the teacher after less than a week, how long does it take to coordinate your limbs ;-). Well, it's like everything, with practice, I became more and more at ease and I mastered the choreographies very well (which I would never have imagined would be possible during my first classes). As if with perseverance, things come true more often than you think.
Finally, the best part of all this? Failure, that is. teaches you to know yourself better. It shows you your strengths, your weaknesses and, above all, your incredible ability to bounce back. Because, let's be clear: failure is not like having a "STOP" sign, let's say it's more the equivalent of a "DETOUR" sign that leads you to an even more badass version of yourself.
By the way, if you want to put things into perspective and hear many inspiring testimonies from personalities, I invite you to listen to the podcast “The Lesson” by Paulette Grisoni. Or the inspiring book “The Art of Failure” by Elisabeth Day. (possibility to have it as an audio book for free on Audible just here)
So the next time you mess up, instead of cursing yourself and wanting to disappear under your bed, take a deep breath and ask yourself: “What can I learn from this?”
Because in the end, failure is just another step towards success. And that's pretty cool, right?
