Learning From Failure--What To Do When You Blow It!


Becoming successful is not easy. We all get tossed around somewhat in our attempts to win or succeed. Learning opportunities are usually created by the "I-Blew-Its".

The biggest challenge you face in overcoming the "I-Blew-Its" is whether or not to curl back up into a ball or seize the day and learn from your mistakes and failures. The choice is yours.

Turn Failure Into Learning Opportunities

Here are a few tips if you choose to use your "I-Blew-Its" as opportunities for personal growth:

  • Assess The Situation. Identify why you are uncomfortable - Were you unprepared? Did you misread what the client wanted? Did you not perform up to your usual standards?

  • Admit Your Mistake. Confess to yourself that it could have been worse. Try to be objective and look at all sides of the issue. If you take a big picture perspective, then it will not seem as bad as you think.

  • Don't Panic - Move On. If you've made an honest error or mistake, then apologize and make reparation where appropriate. The worst thing you can do is to obsess about it.

  • Do Something That You Love. Now is a good time to enjoy your favorite hobby. Go to the movies or call your best friend.

  • Analyze Your Successes. Identify commonalities from your successes and why this time things didn't work. The important thing is to focus on the positives.

  • Find A Mentor Or Coach. We who are self-employed often work alone without outside input. As a result, we can become isolated or too introspective. A mentor or coach can provide objective and honest feed back.

  • Celebrate each accomplishment. For starters, at the end of a successful week simply treat yourself by doing something you enjoy.

    • The Alternative

    If you choose instead to nurse a sense of failure by curling up into a fetal position while lamenting your sad state, make sure you are well-stocked with tissues, a warm blanket, and your favorite drink. Enjoy your private pity party. No one else will come (even if you invite them).

    Roy DeBrule, entrepreneur and seasoned executive in the financial services industry, has helped small business owners for over 25 years to successfully tackle overwhelming business challenges through his clear strategic perspective and a proven ability to evaluate the feasibility of goals. His guiding principle is that everyone, especially executive management needs to embrace one vision. Roy is the President and co-founder of RADSGroup Organizational Consultants, a Stamford, CT based human resources and organizational consulting firm to small and medium-sized businesses. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and is available to speak at management conferences and leadership retreats. To discover how Roy and the RADSGroup can help you transform your business, visit: http://www.radsgroup.com/

    MORE RESOURCES:
    RELATED ARTICLES
    7.9 Things I Learned About Success From Darth Vader
    Unless you have been living in a cave, you have probably seen Star Wars 3. I did some 'thinking outside the box' and came up with some ideas about success from watching the movie.
    The Characteristics of a Winner
    As kind of a hobby I like to watch people. Just kind of sit back and quietly watch how they react and respond to others and their environment.
    What Do You Know?
    "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school It's a wonder I can think at all"- Paul Simon, KodachromeUnless you are a military historian, it is completely irrelevant to your life that the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Yet that knowledge is taught to you in school.
    Create Your Own Security As You Create Life Changes
    Self-change is a personal phenomenon. In order to accomplish it, you'll need to have firm notions about HOW YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN SECURITY rather than relying on others to provide it for you.
    The Formula For Failure and Success
    (Excepted from the book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle by Jim Rohn)Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight.
    The Impossible Dream
    The 72,500 men, women and children sat in an uncomfortable silence, no one daring to cough, no one daring to speak, each one focussed on the young 27 year old. Each one knowing, this was the start of the impossible dream.
    How to Have an Amazingly Satisfying Year
    I started taking stock of my year in 2002. I found it useful at the end of the year to list what I have accomplished, what I am thrilled about, what I wished had turned out differently, what I am proud of, what I learned, what were the pleasant surprises, and the not so pleasant ones, what I want to develop as a habit, and what I want to do differently in the future.
    Create Your Future Through Visualization
    The best way to predict your future is to create it. All high-achieving men and women take full control of their lives, and if they don't find the opportunities they want , they create them.
    Elements of Success
    There are twelve necessary elements involved in achieving success:1. Spend daily time in reflection, contemplation, meditation, stillness and silence.
    Opportunities for Success: A Nickel in the Road
    Exercising is not one of my favorite pastimes but I know it's good for me. So every day I try to get outside and take a 2-mile walk.
    Achieving Success with Authentic Joy: 12 Reflections
    Success begins with a personal dream that is bigger than the dreamer is. There is success achieved through sheer force of will and success that brings peace of mind and authentic joy.
    Achieve the Success You Want: 7 Reasons Why People Dont
    Change is one of the biggest concepts facing today's society. We are all confronted by how fast the world is changing and how we must change to keep up.
    10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace - Wayne Dyer Book Mini-Review
    Dr. Wayne Dyer published his best-selling book, "10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace" and it's an easy read.
    Is This Your Time To Take Action?
    If you are sick and tired of the dreaming phase of things and are ready to take some action and get results..
    The Power Of Language: How To Language Your Future
    Imagine living in the world that Helen Keller found herself in nineteen months after arriving on this planet. A world that was dark and silent as the result of a high fever that eliminated her ability to see and hear.
    The Need To Be Successful
    The need to be successful. This is the bottom line for us all.
    Failures: 2 Types 7 Reasons
    We experience failure directly or indirectly. Here we will come to know about the meaning and the mighty types and reasons of any failure.
    Bill Gates: Why He is the Richest Man in the World
    Bill is a man for the people, of the people and with the people every step of the way to make our's a better, more equipped society and environment in every sense of the formulation. His formula and future ideal goal was simple: "A paperless society".
    Reach Your Goals - Friendly Competition
    Friendly competition Get together with a group of like-minded friends who are committed to reaching the same, or similar, goals.  Brainstorm ways to "compete" in reaching those goals, decide on the timing and logistics of regular "check-in" meetings and perhaps set up a system of rewards.
    Three Things You Must Know to Attract Success
    Everyone wants success.Some people spend their every waking moment pursuing it, to the detriment of all else.