Everything You Know About Failure Is Wrong

What if you’ve been looking at failure in the wrong way? We’re taught in life and in business that failure is a bad thing. It’s a lack of success. An embarrassing collapse. A total defeat. A flop. Right?

Dead. Wrong.

Because not only is failure unavoidable, it’s a natural part of your pathway forward, especially if that path includes entrepreneurship. If you want to be successful, it’s time to embrace failure. Creating your own path starts with making failure your BFF. The sooner that you can embrace the power of failing, the quicker you can move forward to bigger and better things.

So many of us use the fear of failure as an excuse to hold us back. We remain stagnant, trapped in our current situations, simply because we’re too afraid to move forward and risk not reaching our big dreams and goals. But what if you could view failure, not as rejection … but as redirection?

Failure is Redirection

Here’s what’s great about failure: it’s an instinctive indication to redirect somewhere else. Contrary to popular belief, failure is not a bad thing. Rather it’s a learning lesson to either pivot to a different direction, adopt a new approach, or move on completely. I know what it’s like to face entrepreneurial failure. In late 2015, after nearly two years as a full-time food blogger and wellness coach, I was forced to confront the reality that my current business had crumbled.

It was a reality that was months in the making. Of course, looking back, it’s easy to see why it didn’t work out: not the right structure or support in place and a lack of diversifying my income. But truthfully, the spark that I once had for my food blog and wellness business had dwindled away in the same direction as my business profits (aka, downward in a pile of nothingness).

Even with that said, it was still an extremely emotional time for me. I had many sleepless nights, random cryfests, and feelings of self-pity and disappointment. If you’ve gone through something similar, you know the rollercoaster of emotions that comes along with it. In the midst of it all, I questioned everything and even regretted getting into entrepreneurship in the first place. In fact, when I first went back to work, I vowed to say goodbye to being an entrepreneur for good.

Of course, looking back, failure become one of my biggest blessings in disguise.

It was that exact failure that acted as a pivot towards something that I realized was my true purpose in life: to show other females how to quit the job they hate and build a business they love.

I’m so grateful that the first entrepreneurial endeavor didn’t work out. I can thank my failure for eventually leading me to my current successes, including launching my growing and profitable subscription box, coaching and mentoring incredible clients, and writing my first book.

Three Reasons Why Failure is Your Best Friend, failure can be a serious ally to your big goals and aspirations. Here’s why:

1. She reminds you how strong you are

It’s true that going through failure may feel like hitting rock bottom … I’ve been there, and I certainly had days where I didn’t want to leave the safety of my bed (with Netflix on an ice cream and wine on the bedside table).

But once you go through a failure or two and move past it, you’re reminded how strong you are mentally and emotionally. Everything you built was pulled out from under you, and you’re still here, ready to make your move.

It’s kind of like your first love (and first break-up) … while it’s devastatingly crushing the first time around after you come out the other side, you realize how strong and capable you are (and the next one is never as difficult to go through as the first).

2. She gives you advice

The best BFFs not only listen to your hopes and dreams, but they also provide suggestions and help guide you towards the next step to take. Failure is no different. She acts as a compass, redirecting you towards where you should go. She serves as a learning lesson to experiment and try new things in your business and life.

3. Journal Questions to Move Forward [Take Action] Redefine Failure

If you’ve experienced a failure that you can’t move past, it’s time to reframe the situation as a learning lesson. Use these journal questions to open your mind and embrace failure as part of your pathway to greatness.

Question One: What did I learn from the situation?

Question Two: How can I grow as a person from the experience?

Question Three: What are three positive things about the situation that I can take away?