Why is failure important

But you can do better. Your failure, whatever it is, provides you with some really important feedback if you have the courage to look for it.

For example, you just bombed the interview for your dream job. Where did you mess up? What do you need to learn or to practice so you can interview more effectively next time? What do you need to do differently? You have the power to learn from your mistakes and improve so you succeed in future interviews. But you will be. Next time you experience a failure, set time aside at the end of the day to write about what happened.

Get all your emotions out on paper first. Did this mistake hurt your reputation? Hurt a colleague? Lead to a financial loss? As he writes on the Virgin blog one of his failures, attempting to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon, almost cost him his life.

We should all learn to embrace it rather than fear it. It is one of our greatest learning tools. This is why it can be helpful to view your missteps as learning experiences. So get up and try a different approach.

The hardest and most important lesson I learned early on was how not to treat clients. I still cringe when I think of the colossal failure that taught me that lesson.

He asked in advance, but the way he approached me about it struck a nerve and I lost my temper. An older and wiser me would have taken a deep breath and waited 24 hours before responsponding to the email.

But my inexperience and rashness won the day, and I responded with a blistering email that was harsh and insulting. The day after it happened, I wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear. Of course I lost the client, as well as my self-respect. It still stings 15 years later and likely always will. You can choose to let setbacks defeat and define you or you can choose to learn the lessons and carry on stronger and wiser than before. I try and see so-called failures as valuable steps on the way to success.

Failure is a great teacher in learning your own personal limitations, and figuring out how to do better next time. School teaches you a very linear path to success.

But in the real world, success is not always so predictable or straightforward. It felt like the end of the world. I wrote and self-published my first young adult novel Dear Dylan - giving away the e-book for free. Dear Dylan went on to win a national book award and then went to auction, with eight publishers bidding for it.

Not all risks are sensible, admittedly, but the one thing that unifies super successful people is the ability to take a risk. I never wrote a business plan, but in order to reach the next level in life, business, and my own personal growth, I had to take some risks. Meaning that they will get a hit 3 out of every 10 at bats. It is part of the game. However, I want to step away from the sports references and just talk about why failure is not the end of the world, why embracing those moments can actually be your biggest promoter.

I have heard my parents say they want me to learn from the things they did wrong. Maybe you have heard this too, but it is probably not often that you were told its okay to make mistakes. You were probably not told that making your own mistakes will also help you grow.

The way in which you choose to respond to your own failure is more likely to inspire change than trying to response to events that you did not experience like those your parents always talk about.