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What
is Failure?
By Peter Nguyen - Jun
20, 2008
Someone asked this interesting question on Linkedin Answers. I thought
I'd share my answer with you.
Failure - An important factor to build success?
Failure is part of success, and certainly makes life more interesting.
Indeed, most people will admit that they have learned more from
failure than from success.
The concept of "failure" itself might be misleading, since it has a
negative connotation and is something that most people try to avoid.
This avoidance limits the richness of experience that life offers.
Men, for obvious cultural reasons, are more "afraid" of failure than
women. The male ego has something to do with it, but it would be
inaccurate to blame men for having this ego since it arises in a
culture that overvalues performance -- often at the expense of
authentic experience.
Women, for reasons that I have not yet fully understood, value
experience more than men. They are willing to step outside the
familiar path in order to experience life. However, I believe both
experience and performance are possible and lead to a rich life.
I mean "performance" in the sense that we make progress in controlling
ourselves and achieving self-mastery. Not performance in the sense of
satisfying some external or societal standard, and winning medals or
awards as a result.
For example, it is possible for a person to "fail" in his career or
business, yet this apparent failure gives him a great opportunity to
evolve by understanding more things about himself, his life and his
ultimate purpose on Earth. Indeed, nothing starts a serious reflection
and serious self-examination than failure.
Some people need to have a serious medical crisis before they sit down
and think seriously about their lives. Others only require a certain
non-threatening illness to halt the mindless momentum of their hectic
career, and begin the process of self-examination and contemplative
inquiry.
In most cases, it is quite useful to adopt the following attitude
toward failure: "Oh, I now have the opportunity to explore another
dimension of life and of myself! Great!"
Those who take advantage of such opportunities for meditation and for
re-examining the meaning and purpose of their lives, often re-emerge
into society with a powerful sense of alignment with who they truly
are. It is as if they were born again, and were given a second chance
at life. Many such people are destined to become teachers, for they
have gone through the experience and can speak about it with
credibility.
But back to the concept of "failure." At the mere thought of possible
failure, many people recoil and take the beaten and familiar path --
they seek security instead of experience and adventure.
The ultimate success might be to realize that failure doesn't exist in
reality, and is only a concept we have been conditioned to focus on in
our society and culture. A second illusion is the fear of failure, and
this fear often paralyzes people who otherwise might have expressed or
exercised their natural talents.
Let's not forget that even Pablo Picasso, the great artist, feared how
the world would react to his first cubist painting, Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon. He hid that painting in a closet for two years before
finally showing it.
Indeed, every person is engaged on a personal path of evolution, and
cannot fail. If he is moving forward on that path, he is then
evolving. If not, then he needs time to reflect and absorb earlier
lessons and experiences. In either cases, he is not failing at all. He
is simply deciding, consciously or subconsciously, to evolve on his
own timetable, without comparing himself to others at the material
level.
It is useful to remember that life is a school and that the same
lesson, in different yet fundamentally similar forms, will keep coming
to us until we absorb and master the lesson. This is necessary for our
own personal growth and evolution. Yet there is no "failure" at all.
Life is a process of self-perfection, and we are already perfect on
the spiritual plane. Our "higher self" is already perfect. It's just
that in this physical life, we have the extraordinary opportunity to
taste and experience this exquisite process of perfecting ourselves.
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