What's your definition of success? Many people think its excellence on a first try, nah! Its not. You might have heard about Thomas Edison, the man who invented the light bulb. According to history he was said to have failed 1000 times during the course of inventing the incandescent light bulb. Thomas Edison said '' I did not fail 1000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps ''.
Saying to yourself that you have failed is akin to an autoimmune disease, you are simply destroying yourself mentally. To achieve a positive result you have to motivate yourself and learn from your mistakes. In research, a negative outcome is not a failure. However, you can pick up another trial from where you have stopped. The previous mistakes are invaluable because they have successfully afforded you an experience which you never had.
You are never a failure! Its either you did not plan well or the method you adopted is not suitable enough to address the problem. To achieve positive result you need to be consistent and resilient. Thats why success doesnt come overnight. There is usually a period between planting and harvesting, this times can be tough a times but you have to be resilient and dynamic in solving problems.
Let me add this, if you dont plan then failure is imminent. Planning is one of the key to success. Remember an achievable goal is that with a timeframe. Optimism without timeframe will only make you an indefinite optimist, this means you believe the outcome of your efforts will be positive but you lack workable plan and no time frame.
Say to yourself now that I AM NOT A FAILURE!