Failed To Achieve A Goal? Get Back Up And Learn From It

Author:
February 08, 2021

We tend to think of failure as something shameful, undesirable. Understandably, failing to achieve it often cause negative feelings, no matter how big or small the goal was.
And the only way to overcome those feelings is by changing the way we understand failure - it is part of the process of success and leaves valuable lessons if we know how to learn from it.

Three ways to redefine failure and learn from it effectively.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes - Learning from your mistakes is about more than just thinking about what went wrong. The first step towards using failure as a tool for success is to stop seeing mistakes as shameful.

Think about it - a mistake is not just a natural part of embarking on a new project; it is also part of the human experience. As such, they should be accepted as a necessary step towards achieving your goals.
In her article "Strategies for Learning from Failure", Amy C. Edmondson classifies mistakes in three categories:
Preventable
These are the mistakes we often think of as bad. They result from lack of focus or attention to the procedures needed to achieve the goal.
Complexity-related
These mistakes happen when the goal is the product of many factors - your own motivation, previous skills, your environment, support network, and the resources you have to accomplish it. If any of these fail, you might be unable to achieve the goal.
Intelligent mistakes
According to Adam Mendler in his article What Sales Executives Can Learn From Failure, having the freedom to make mistakes increases creativity and work performance. Without unnecessary pressures to avoid mistakes and the shame that comes with it, employees contribute more frequently and are able to express more original ideas.

 

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