3 MIN WATCH
MAY 2025
Video: How failure can be good for you
Do you often worry about making mistakes or letting people down? Fear of failure is very common and can show up at any time in your life. If left unchecked, it can hurt your self-confidence, affect your relationships and even your career.
Resources for Living (RFL) has many suggestions on how to manage setbacks and a fear of failure. Check out their video on how failure can be a good tool for success and growth.
Print
Looking for more? Find other articles below
♪ ♪ Narrator:
Do you ever feel down because you don’t succeed the first time you try something new?
The idea of easy and constant success is a myth. You may remember the story of King Midas. You know, that guy who walked around touching stuff and turning it into gold.
Well, when he tried to eat something, he realized what he thought was a blessing was really a curse.
If everything came easily to you, there wouldn’t be any new lessons for you to eat and digest and learn from. You wouldn’t have anything to aspire to; there would be no higher heights to climb.
Failure teaches you.
No one sets out to fail, yet failure is often a part of eventual success. Sometimes you can build on what’s working and make changes to what’s not in order to get to your goal. And other times, great things get discovered by surprise.
For instance, Thomas Edison was trying to record telegraph signals and recorded his own voice along the way. This led to the invention of the phonograph. Edison seems to have made friends with failure. He’s quoted as saying, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Here are some tips to help you see failure in a positive light:
Try, try, try again! Most things don’t happen overnight. They take practice and along the way you can learn new things and find ways to improve.
No one’s perfect. If you were perfect, you wouldn’t have anything in common with others. You’d be the only one who’s never failed at something.
Look for the silver lining. No matter how successful you are, no one becomes immune to failing. But you can change your attitude about failure. Don’t look at failures as failures. See them for what they can be: breadcrumbs on the path to success.
Help others. Once you’ve achieved a measure of success, you’re in a great place to help others who might be starting out along a similar path.Try, try, try again! Most things don’t happen overnight. They take practice and along the way you can learn new things and find ways to improve.
Edison also said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
The next time something doesn’t go the way you hoped or planned, ask yourself what you can learn. You might surprise yourself!
♪ ♪
Go from worst critic to best advocate
Did you know that women are less likely to apply for leadership roles — even if they’re just as qualified?1 Putting yourself out there — whether you’re trying a new hobby, going on a date or applying for a job — can be scary. You may feel self-conscious or worry about what others are thinking. But in reality, most people are feeling the same way.
Take time to think about where you’d like to grow at Costco. There are countless opportunities within the company. Connect with your manager about your goals and create an action plan — whether it’s learning a new department or developing certain skills. Staying on the same page as your leadership is an important step to reach your goals!
When you fall down, you’re really failing up
Have you heard of “growth mindset?” It’s a way of thinking that looks at challenges and setbacks as an opportunity for self-improvement. Another term for this is “failing up.” For example, missing out on a promotion can be disappointing. But a growth mindset sees this as a chance to grow.
Things don’t always go as planned
No matter how well we plan, life is filled with twists and turns. Family and relationship problems, job disappointments, health issues, financial stressors — everyone faces these at some point in their life. The key to bouncing back is resilience. It’s an important life skill that helps you deal with whatever comes your way.
Source(s):
1Worldwide Economic Forum. Why clear job descriptions matter for gender equality?
