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March 06 2008
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How to Fail at Practically Anything

failure, fail, attitude, sore loser, lose, losing, problems, problem solvingMost people try to avoid failure. But failure is one of life’s great forces; it’s driven far more innovation than talent, creativity, or necessity. The failures you face, large and small, make you who you are and give you the opportunity to make yourself better.

Part of being able to “fail well” may lie in your attitude. Are you a generally optimistic person, or do you dwell on the negative?

According to an experimental study published in Nature magazine, students who had a pessimistic outlook, and expected to do poorly, felt far worse than those with a better attitude who thought they’d succeed but didn’t.

But worse was the fact that the pessimistic students also tried to deflect any responsibility for their failure. In effect – they didn’t take the opportunity to learn something that might help them do things differently in the future, which is one of the main benefits you can reap from failure.

Here are a few other thoughts on how to fail from Lifehack.org:

  • Fail with grace: Take responsibility for the mess you’ve made, and for cleaning it up.
  • Have a Plan B: Embracing failure means accepting the risks you’re taking and preparing for the worst.
  • Get perspective: Tell an outsider your story, and ask what they would have done differently.
  • Do something: Failure is the path of least persistence -- don’t just give up.

One of my favorite ways of handling failure is this: always assume that whatever situation you’re facing at the moment is exactly the right situation you need to ultimately be successful.

Assume that this situation has been sent to you to help you learn something; to help you improve in some way; to help you expand and grow. By seeking out the valuable lesson in each adversity, you can gain insight, and ultimately wisdom, from every setback or difficulty.

For even more tips on failure, click the link below.


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Community Comments ( 19 )
Comment on this Article
  
  
Dex
[ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on February 18, 2008 ]
8 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Failure is only negative if you don't learn from it or grow from the experience. Insulating one's self from defeat only guarantees a risk-averse, mediocre life. Even though going beyond your limitations insures higher risk of failure, it also makes breakthrouogh possible.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Aaltrude
[ Joined on 04/07 ]  [ Posted on February 18, 2008]
5 Points        
   
Moderator User
  Mercola
Well said Dex. Unfortunately some people take it as a very personally if you point out a mistake of theirs to them. They are not doing themselves any favours in the long run.
Mercola
  
CSR
[ Joined on 08/07 ]  [ Posted on February 19, 2008]
21 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
I agree with both of you, Dex and Aaltrude. I have to give talks on my research all of the time and the audience can be very critical. When I first experienced this, I found myself very upset, but now I realize that it actually improves my work, and benefits the field overall as people share their expertises with each other. Now I love giving talks solely for the feedback, and realize it's nothing personal when things are critiqued. :-)
  
  
Russ Bianchi
[ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on February 19, 2008 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Failure is merely several ways by which one has demonstrated you have yet to succeed.

Tom Edison was asked if he was frustrated by so many failures in commercializing the light bulb, he smiled, and said something to the effect, that he had also learned that many (can't remember the exact number) ways (through failure) not to make a light bulb.

Be true to your vision, and control your own health, because there is no one better than the man, or woman, in the mirror!

Uncle Russ
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
ToothChick
[ Joined on 12/07 ]  [ Posted on March 6, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

It goes like this:

I have not failed.  I have found 10,000 ways that don't work.

=)

  
  
qualitygeek
[ Joined on 10/07 ] [ Posted on February 19, 2008 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Don't tell my DH I've admitted to making mistakes - he thinks I'm perfect.

Some of my favorite quotes on success are framed around failure:

Failures are finger posts on the road to acheivement. - C.S. Lewis

Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making them a second time. - George Bernard Shaw

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. - Colin Powell

We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction. - Douglas MacArthur

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. - Albert Einstein

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? - Robert Schuller

Failure is success if we learn from it. - Malcolm Forbes

I never make the same mistake twice. However, there are an infinite number of possibilities that I've not yet tried. - me
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Chinamoonflower
[ Joined on 03/08 ]  [ Posted on March 6, 2008]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

You don't fail until you give up.

  
  
shaneperrone
[ Joined on 11/07 ] [ Posted on February 19, 2008 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User
I find it is what we do after failure that determines whether or not it was a failure at all. Sometimes things work out for the better :)
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Engineer54
[ Joined on 02/08 ] [ Posted on March 7, 2008 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Novice User

We don't learn anything from success.  We only learn from failures.  Think back how it was when you learned to ride a bicycle or roller skate.  When you started out, you fell down frequently, i.e., made mistakes.  However, you picked yourself up, learned from the mistakes and tried again and again, until you perfected the technique.

I also think back to the days when I learned to fly airplanes.  The instructor would allow me to make mistakes, some of which would make my toes curl and eyes bug out in fear, but he would arrest the mistake before it became fatal.  As long as a mistake is non-fatal, we can recover from it, learn from it, and do better next time.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Phantom O' Banjo
[ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on February 19, 2008 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
What we have here is a failure to communicate!
 [ Reply ]
  
  
WellnessAid
[ Joined on 11/07 ] [ Posted on February 19, 2008 ]
3 Points        
   
 
This user is BELOW novice level and all their comments need to be reviewed with great caution.
"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success." – Thomas J. Watson

---
How often do you feel unwell?
That's too often...
http://www.WellnessAid.com/
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Magnolia
[ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on March 15, 2008 ]
       
   
 
Savvy User

Failure only tells me I need to rethink what I did and try again. It is a way of observing what it is that I don't know. It shows me areas where I need additional data. My responsibility then, is to research, analyze, and test again.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
anitaD.
[ Joined on 07/07 ] [ Posted on March 7, 2008 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

I remember a tale about a lady who tried to make one of her favorite cookie recipies in a new and easier way.  She failed.  She was about to throw away the cookies when she noticed little boys devouring them.  Thus the chocolate chip cookie, the all american favorite was invented.  Sometimes failure is sucess.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
AnnieInfinite
[ Joined on 12/07 ] [ Posted on March 6, 2008 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

There is no such thing as failure, unless it is the failure to learn. Every experience whether it works out well or not is a learning experience. We do not call a baby learning to walk who falls a failure do we? We know that the baby is just learning how to balance and how to stay upright and learning what does and doesn't work.

We are all the same: we are all learning what does and doesn't work for us, so how can we fail? The only way is fail to learn and fail to keep moving forward in life. and dare to fail it means you are still moving forward- so well done!

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Smith33
[ Joined on 03/08 ] [ Posted on March 6, 2008 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

Gentlemen,

I would like to know where I can but the bacteria culture for natto to make my own natto and also

where I can buy natto in Utah.

Thank You

David Smith

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
bmc
[ Joined on 02/07 ]  [ Posted on March 6, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

Smith33 Good question, but I fail to see what it has to do with this post. Ar ar ar.

  
  
LoriSmi
[ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on March 6, 2008 ]
       
   
 
Apprentice User

It is obvious that we all can see the benefis of failure, so why can't the school system see it? Why do we, as parents, make such an issue over our kids failing? How can they learn if they never fail (in school and out)? Maybe we all have something to learn from this...........And maybe we need to rethink how we see schools and their role in the real growth of our young.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Donlyn
[ Joined on 08/07 ] [ Posted on February 20, 2008 ]
       
   
 
Novice User
Where would we be without some failures, we're only human.  It's the failing and not learning from it is where the problems begin.  We're given the opportunity to decide for ourselves what we do, when we choose the wrong way we just have to adjust and learn from it. When we choose the right way we rejoice in it.  Rejoice in all things good and bad and don't let it get to you mentally or physically.  I work with mental affected people, it's not worth the worry!
 [ Reply ]

 
Truste
 
Mercola