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I wonder how many of us remember the slogan of Campbells in the 70’s

The slogan was all over the television channels and radio in New York and got so embedded in my then 4-year-old psyche, that many decades later, I STILL drink soup.

Personally, I think Campbell should take royalty from other soup manufacturers for making me a Soupie (soup fan), but I digress from the topic of this post which is Why Failure Is Good.

In a world where success is everything and coaches guide their protégés to success, why would anyone in their right mind think that failure is good?

Well, some of the greatest inventions and achievements have been preceded by one or many failures until success smiled upon the person.

Imagine a world without telephone or airplanes if their inventors had not pushed ahead one failure at a time towards the highway of success.

The most celebrated example in world history is Abraham Lincoln who had enough failures in life to be labelled a Loser. Yet, he is an admired President of the USA.

The Key Differentiator in Life between a Winner and a Loser 

What ultimately separates the winners from the losers is their ability to bounce back after a setback or overcome a roadblock to achieve victory and success in whatever they had set out to do.

Of course, I am neither advocating that one has to have failures before one tastes success nor that failure is an essential precursor of success.

The person who passes their driving test on the first attempt is as successful as the one who passes it after many failed attempts.

What I admire about the latter person is their indomitable spirit and character that they don’t give up. Success is so much sweeter.

The point is, how do you react to failure?

Sometimes we don’t get it right the first time. It all comes down to attitude. When the chips are down, how do you motivate yourself to stay the path? Do you quit out of fear of ridicule or do you introspect to get it right next time round?

Analyzing Failure for Ultimate Success

The next time you don’t succeed and achieving the completion of a task is important, indulge yourself with a spot of quiet meditation and introspection. Ask yourself

• What have I learnt from this experience?
• What went wrong?
• Is this a complete failure or a partial success?
• What can I do different next time?
• Did I miss something?
• Could I have prevented failure?
• What contingency planning should I do now?
• Is there a lesson to be learnt?
• Can I take away a positive lesson from this experience?

The last question is important because you do not want the situation to result in any conscious or subconscious fear or negativity. Those who practice the law of attraction to achieve success know how our thoughts and feelings affect our success.

For those who do not believe in the law of attraction, remember, maintaining a positive attitude will make sure that you will find the inner strength to try again.

There are so many inspirational quotes that one can refer to, whether Fire proves Gold, Adversity proves Men, or A Winner Never Quits and A Quitter Never Wins, but my favorite one is

How do you deal with failure? Do you use the lessons learned as a stepping stone to success or course correct for a better goal? Please share your views in the comments box below.

Want to learn more about how failure can become a part of your Hero’s Journey? The teleclass that I held in October 2015 as part of my monthly free learning sessions is now available in Kindle format.  Click the image below to download it on Amazon.

PS. You may want to also check out the post Build Your Positive Reflex for 2 techniques that will help you recondition your mindset.

Update: This post was originally written in December 2011 and has been updated for relevance and information.