The Secret to Never Failing Again
It’s simpler than you think.
Illustrations by Eric Chow
“I love failing!”
That’s probably not something you’ve heard many people say. Most of us aren’t thrilled about failure. It can hurt, throw off our plans, and sometimes be downright embarrassing.
But what if there was a secret to never failing again?
“Hold up,” you might be thinking. “Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes. How can someone never fail?”
Thomas Edison discovered the secret as he attempted many times to invent the light bulb. “I didn’t fail 1,000 times,” he reportedly said. “The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
Edison failed over and over again, but he didn’t choose to see it that way. And that’s the secret! Shift your perspective! When you shift your perspective, your “failures” can become something new and positive.
Here are four ways to shift your perspective about failure:
-
Figure out what you can and cannot control. Sometimes the things we worry about most aren’t in our control. Take applying for a job, for example. You can control the effort you put into applying, but you can’t control the result. Instead of spending energy worrying you’ll “fail,” try putting effort into what you have control over and trust the Lord. He has promised that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28). And if you don’t get that job? You’re not a failure! Even if you don’t get the result you were hoping for, you gave your best effort, and that’s success!
-
Grab the good and keep going. When you feel like you’re failing, try to look deeper at your experience. Didn’t make the sports team? Got a disappointing grade on a test? Looking at where you struggled will give you a great map for what you need to do in the future. If an experience makes you feel crummy, acknowledge your feelings and then choose to move on with the good. Failure can actually help you continue forward in new and better directions.
-
Remember this isn’t the end. There’s a common saying: “Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.” Moroni teaches something similar. He said, “Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles” (Mormon 9:15). As we trust in God, press forward in faith, and remember that our stories don’t end when something goes wrong, miracles can happen and any “failures” we may face can eventually become amazing successes.
-
Stand with Christ. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, no failure is ever permanent. We always have the choice to repent, turn our hearts back to God, and ask for His help. President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has taught: “However many mistakes you feel you have made … , I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” So, in a way, when you stand with Christ, you cannot fail!
As you view your failures as steps to success, you unlock the secret to never truly failing again.
So give it a try! And if you fail? Just remember—you’re not really failing. You’re making progress, one step at a time.