WHAT IS FAILURE? 7 CAUSES OF FAILURE
WHAT IS FAILURE? 7 CAUSES OF FAILURE. Failure can be defined as the state or condition of not achieving a desirable or intended objective; it can be considered the opposite of success. Failure is just a state of mind. You are a failure only if you think that you failed. Your attitude towards a certain situation determines whether or not you have failed.
The fact is that everyone fails in something or the other at some point in their lives.
- It is easy to think negatively when it seems that everything that you do is not good enough.
Look at the following failures and conclude yourself:
- Only 400 Cokes were sold in its first year of production.
- Albert Einstein’s Ph.D. dissertation was rejected.
- Henry Ford had two bankruptcies before his famous success.
- Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the electric bulb failed no less than 10000 times before succeeding. But he said “I have not failed. I have just found 10000 ways that won’t work.
Disappointments, Rejections, Unsuccessful attempts were not failures to the successful people.
- They used them as stepping stones to success.
- This is the difference between people who win and people who don’t.
- Failure is not the lack of success.
- People are looking only at the successes of others.
- They are not seeing the struggles, frustrations, and disappointments they faced.
Ralph Waldo Emerson who was a successful American essayist, lecturer, and poet told “Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories”
- Successful people don’t blame others for what has happened to them and they don’t use other people’s definitions for success and failure.
- They use their own.
- They just change paths, re-assess goals, try something new or adjust direction.
- To them, failure happens when they stop trying to achieve their personal best.
7 CAUSES OF FAILURE:
- The following factors can be considered as causes of failure.
- The most common failure-causing problems and their solutions:
1. Lack of Persistence:
- More people fail not because they lack knowledge or talent but because they just quit.
- It’s important to remember two words: persistence and resistance.
- Persist in what must be done and resist what ought not to be done.
Try new approaches.
- Persistence is important, but repeating the same actions over and over again, hoping that this time you’ll succeed, probably won’t get you any closer to your objective.
- Look at your previous unsuccessful efforts and decide what to change.
- Keep making adjustments and midcourse corrections, using your experience as a guide.
2. Lack of Conviction:
- People who lack conviction take the middle of the road. But what happens in the middle of the road?
- You get run over.
- People without conviction go along to get along because they lack confidence and courage.
- They conform to get accepted, even when they know that what they are doing is wrong.
Decide what is important to you.
- If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right and doing well.
- Let your passion show even in mundane tasks.
- It’s OK to collaborate and cooperate for success, but
- it’s not OK to compromise your values—ever.
3. Rationalization:
- Winners might analyze, but they never rationalize.
- Losers rationalize and have a book full of excuses to tell you why they couldn’t succeed.
Change your perspective.
- Don’t think of every unsuccessful attempt as a failure.
- Few people succeed at everything the first time.
- Most of us attain our goals only through repeated effort.
- Do your best to learn everything you can about what happened and why.
4. Dismissal of Past Mistakes:
- Some people live and learn, and some only live.
- Failure is a teacher if we have the right attitude.
- Wise people learn from their mistakes—experience is the name they give to slipups.
- Define the problem better.
Analyze the situation—what you want to achieve, what your strategy is, why it didn’t work.
- Are you viewing the problem correctly?
- If you need money, you have more options than increasing revenue.
- You could also cut expenses.
- Think about what you’re trying to do.
5. Lack of Discipline:
- Anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile has never done it without discipline.
- Discipline takes self-control, sacrifice, and avoiding distractions and temptations.
- It means staying focused.
- Don’t be a perfectionist.
- You might have an idealized vision of what success will look and feel like.
- Although that can be motivational, it might not be realistic.
- Succeeding at one goal won’t eliminate all your problems.
- Be clear on what will satisfy your objectives and don’t obsess about superficial details.
6. Poor Self-Esteem:
- Poor self-esteem is a lack of self-respect and self-worth.
- People with low self-confidence are constantly trying to find themselves rather than creating the person they want to be.
- Don’t label yourself.
- You might have failed, but you’re not a failure until you stop trying.
- Think of yourself as someone still striving toward a goal, and you’ll be better able to maintain your patience and perseverance for the long haul.
7. Fatalistic Attitude:
- A fatalistic attitude prevents people from accepting responsibility for their position in life.
- They attribute success and failure to luck.
- They resign themselves to their fate, regardless of their efforts, that whatever has to happen will happen anyway.
- Look in the mirror every day and say, I am in charge.
- You might not have control over every phase of your life, but you have more control than you realize, and you are responsible for your happiness and success.
- Your attitude determines your altitude, and you can turn “down” into “up”.