Failure Is an Art and How to Do It, or Avoid It, Like a Champion

Failure as a noun means lack of success, omission of required action, or the collapse of a business. It can be embarrassing and painful to experience. Most will do anything to avoid failure—nobody wants to fail. “We want to prevent failure, and that’s why we come up with reasons for why we shouldn’t do things we want to do. We tell ourselves no because we don’t think we’re ready yet,” James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says. “It’s also why we abandon our ideas. But ‘no’ rarely means impossible …. Usually if someone tells you no, what they really mean is ‘not right now or ‘not in that way.’”

Experts agree failure isn’t a destination but more so a redirection. But failing may prove more beneficial than succeeding. “We learn more from our failures than our successes. When we fail, not only do we find out what doesn’t work so that we can adjust our future attempts, but we learn about ourselves in the process and gain a bit of empathy toward others who might be struggling,” says Kealy Spring, Leadership Fellow Coach, BetterUp.

It’s time to reframe how we think about failing. Here’s how to do it like a champion.

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