Overcoming challenge

There is no denying the fact that challenges in life make us stronger. Undoubtedly, living in the world is full of challenges; especially for those who are quite ambitious. Once you set a goal and start marching towards it, you will initially find your way riddled with obstacles, hindrances, challenges, difficulties, and setbacks. Even most of the people around are not only apathetic, but critical also. It appears as if the entire world is conspiring to make us a failure.  

However, this is not true. As the famous saying is: ‘Life is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You React to it’. As we set out on the adventurous journey of success, we will definitely come across obstacles; but if we got discouraged and gave in to them, we would definitely fail, which would leave to poor self-image. A man with low self-image is not meant for stars; men or women who dare to chase their dreams naturally have a high self-esteem. Obstacles and hindrances rather fuel their zest for life. They take people’s criticism positively and learning from their mistakes keep marching towards their goals.

All great men and women of the past have been men and women who did not allow people to determine their self-image; they courageously faced challenges and obstacles. Jesus had to face so many adversities before he rose to heaven! Helen Keller had to face innumerable challenges on every step she put forward. She fought her darkness, hearing and speech disabilities and emerged as a better personality. Booker T Washington faced so many obstacles and rose from being a slave to one of the most successful educationist.

Why Failure Is Really a Success

When something doesn’t go your way, what’s the first thought that pops into your head? Do you chastise yourself? Or do you reassure yourself that you are growing stronger and wiser with each challenge you face?

In reality, it’s not the successes that make you a stronger, more successful person; it’s the failures.

This may sound odd, but each failure you have is actually a success. Why, you ask? Because it gives you the opportunity to improve, learn, and try again. Let’s take a look at a couple of the world’s greatest failures that lead to the some of the most ubiquitous inventions of our time.

* Did you know that 3M’s greatest failure was inventing glue that won’t stick? That glue became the basis for the sticky backing on the “Post-It Note.”

* The scientists at Pfizer were trying to create a medication that treated high blood pressure in men. It failed to affect blood pressure, but it had one unexpected side effect. We now know this drug as Viagra and it’s considered one of the most successful failures ever.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that each failure you encounter will land you with an immediate success. But it’s always a stepping-stone along the way.

You Can Only Appreciate Success After You’ve Failed

Thomas Edison had an incredibly positive attitude about failure. When he was questioned as to why so many of his experiments were failures, he responded by saying that he never had a failure in any of his experiments, rather, each experiment helped him discover another way that something would not work. In reality, sometimes the only way to know whether you’ve succeeded is to fail.

Learning How to Deal With Disappointment

Dealing with the disappointment of failure can be tough for adults as well as for children. But everyone experiences failure at some point in their lives and teaching our children how to deal with the disappointment is a critical life lesson.

Can you imagine a young adult, either a teen or college student, dealing with their first failures in the workplace? A tantrum at any age is not appealing, never mind from an adult who should know better.

Consider the very wise words of Winston Churchill who said, “Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” What did he mean exactly? Well here are three reasons why failing is a good thing: