Failure Is Not The Opposite Of Success, It Is The Stepping Stone To Success Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post

If a baby just sat on the floor and cried after trying to take its first step—and never tried again—would the baby ever walk? No. The baby’s muscles would never grow to be strong enough to support his weight, if his mother carried him from that point on. No loving mother would say, “Baby, don’t try again.”

But too many people in the world today have given up, beaten down by their failures and indifference by others to their plight in the world.

Hopeless. They don’t try again. But we need everyone to try again.

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? A lot. If something didn’t work, you would try again. You would set big goals. You would approach all problems in your life without fear. You would be great. Your name would appear in the history books. The next generation would know your story, just like we know the stories and names of George Washington, Martin Luther King, Henry Ford and Nelson Mandela.

They all faced tough circumstances in the world and had to conquer their fears and emotions to find success in life. They had failures. Many times. Henry Ford said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Yet, some of us stop when we meet failure. We give up. Why?

Because we fear meeting failure again.

We lose our hope, then our vision of what we — and the world — can be.

I believe it is the fear of failure that keeps us from reaching our greatest potential as human-beings. As we look at the problems confronting us today, too many of us feel overwhelmed and powerless to change our circumstances.

So we sit back, complain and do nothing.

We find fault in the actions of others. We criticize. We believe the lie we told ourselves. The lie that holds us back: I’m powerless.

Have you failed in your efforts to get what you want out of life?

That’s okay. It’s just a part of gaining the wisdom you need to be successful.

You should think of every failure as a stepping stone to your goal.

It’s nothing more than that.

Many of my successes in life have been spectacular because I’ve kept trying in the face of repeated failure and push back from others.

I knew I was okay when others saw me on the edge of a cliff.

I think failure is a perquisite to achieving high levels of success in life. That’s been my experience. So I expect failure to show its face, especially when I’m trying to reach another one of my unreasonable goals in life.

When I’ve faced failure, I’ve always looked for the inherent lesson.

Then I’ve tried to accelerate my rate of failure. I’ve thought, “Let’s hurry up and get these failures over with.” I try again and again, hour after hour, day after day and even year after year to break through to successes.

I know I’ve had many more failures than successes in my life.

That’s just how it works.

What’s important is to keep the faith through the many dark nights required to become an overnight success. Understand this point.

Don’t be discouraged. Be persistent. Be resilient. Be of strong mind.

There’s also a wisdom lesson associated with every failure.

Wisdom is what we get from our life experiences when we pay attention.

So pay attention!

When I look at my failures, I always assume there’s something I didn’t do right or take into consideration. There’s always something to learn.

I’ve always held myself accountable for my failures. That way I can avoid becoming a victim. If it’s not my fault, I can’t fix it.

So take ownership of your problems and find the solutions that work.

Listen to your critics. The criticisms of your enemies, bosses, family and friends always contain seeds of truth, even when delivered to you in a harsh way. Get the lesson. Come up with a new strategy.

Then execute again and again. Failure is just feedback. Try again.

Many feel that they are failing to reach their goals. Are you one of them?

If you are, don’t just complain.

Decide what you can do to make a positive impact in your community or company now. The truth is: You are not powerless.

What would you do, if you had no fear of failure?

That’s what you should be doing today.

Need help?

Put it out there and see who will join you.

Allow the organizing power of the universe to amaze you.

Make a plan for your positive development as a human-being.

What can you do?