Failure IS Fuel

Written by a F.A.B.U. contributor

Failure is a part of life, and what you learn from those mistakes is how to become successful in the future.

You might have failed a test in school or made an embarrassing mistake at work. You may feel discouraged. You might even tell yourself that you can't do anything right and that you should give up and quit.

Fortunately, you can use those feelings of defeat and discouragement to fuel you to make changes and ensure it doesn't happen again. This determination can propel you to succeed later to prove to everyone - and yourself - that you are capable of doing anything you set your mind to, no matter how many times you fail.

Here are some tips on how to turn the feeling of failure into fuel:

When you make a mistake, don't shut down and focus on it for too long. It's natural to feel defeated. You are human after all, but don't fret too much about it. Instead, use that feeling to work harder and push yourself forward.

With that said...

Push yourself and keep going. Prove to yourself that you can do it. Don't get stuck too much in your head. Sometimes, we think a problem is a bigger deal than it actually is.

Recognize the problem and what steps you can take to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Ask yourself: Were you responsible for the outcome? Maybe you didn't put as much effort in as you should have?

Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it or try to find a different route to solve the problem. Whatever the case is, reflect on what happened and learn from it.

When it comes to making mistakes, sometimes you don't get a second chance. As a result, you might not be able to retake the test, or you may even get fired for your error on the job. But, the experience will leave an impact.

Remember to learn what you've done wrong, and moving forward, you'll know to do something different to prevent it. Use the feeling of failure to motivate you to push forward and try harder for next time.

Success doesn't happen unless you fail a million times. That is when true success comes into play.