Brian Weiner

A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.

JOHN BURROUGHS

How many times have you failed in your life?

Failure is an interesting choice of words, for in its broadest context, it presumes that someone, or something has malfunctioned… and as a direct consequence, is unable to complete that which they either set up to do, or in the case of an inanimate object, that which it was created to do. 

But is it possible that there are shades of what could be potentially construed as failure and, as a direct result, would it then be possible to presume, that failure is not always an absolute, but rather a benchmark on the road to success? 

Perhaps those steps that have been previously construed as failure by yourself, or by others, were in fact, stepping stones towards a much greater success? 

We are conditioned through tests in school, and life experiences to feel as if the choices are binary… you have either succeeded or you have failed. 

Yet the reality is that in many cases, a failure is not an absolute whatsoever, but instead, a point in which we are given an accentuation of that which we must need to improve upon, such that the next time we are at the same or similar crossroads, we have the knowledge or the skill to defeat that obstacle and continue forward. 

The whole world of video games continues to reinforce this thought process. In a video game, when you hit a point of failure, you must go backwards and try and tackle it again, until you are finally able to defeat whatever it was, that was thwarting your progress previously. 

When we are in a healthy frame of mind, we can see these variables as clear as day, and, given their strength as a learning process, we are quick to adapt to their core lessons, held within those experiences for our benefit.

But if we are in an unhealthy frame of mind, we might be inclined to lay the blame at the feet of others, rather than owning these circumstances as being our own… and, as a direct consequence, working to improve ourselves to rectify those problems at all costs. 

If we are content with allowing the blame to lie on the shoulders of others, we are missing this tremendous lesson in life, in which we are given opportunity to mature at a rate that is predominantly self-determined, and which may ultimately help us into becoming whom we need to become. 

When you hit an impasse that gives you cause to fall, get back up again and keep going forward. No matter what. 

Happy Friday!