It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow.
Paula Scher
Failure is mostly equated with disappointment and all types of negative emotions. It is looked at as something ignominious; something that must be avoided at all costs. Sure, failure hurts – it is, after all, a sign that all our hard work was in vain, or that we simply did not get the stroke of luck we needed to go with our efforts. However, fretting over a failure for too long can kill our drive to shoot for the stars. It breeds mediocrity and a tendency to settle for less.
However, failure is not necessarily a roadblock – it can also be an effective teacher. When viewed in the right context and embraced with a positive mindset, failure can actually engender creativity. Especially if you are young, your defeats are mostly the outcome of your own mistakes, though more often than not, these very mistakes lead to unexpected discoveries. In fact, growth is only possible when you tread away from the expected course of action. Why else would it be that most great scientific discoveries resulted from human error or something completely unanticipated?
It might sound clichéd, but you need to get bad in order to get good. You often need to hit rock bottom to learn to fly high. You see, when you use your setbacks as a launchpad to make breakthroughs in your field of activity, you carve out a niche for yourself, redefining the expectations both for yourself and your peers. This constant motivation to work hard and outdo yourself can only stem from failure. Paula Scher is a noted American painter and graphic designer. She has been a vocal advocate of a fearless approach to both work and life. She is particularly renowned for her following quote: “It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow.”