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“You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because that’s where you will find success.” – Thomas J. Watson
Have you heard this leadership quote?
Thomas J. Watson is saying there is a difference in the way you can react when you fail. You can be discouraged and give up. Or you can learn your lessons from the failure and use those to improve on your next try. When you keep trying in this way, finding success is just a matter of when.
The Definition of Insanity
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result.
Likewise when we try something and fail, if we don’t change or grow from that failure then we are in that same definition of insanity. But failure gives us a unique gift. For those of us mature enough to see it, that gift is a lesson wrapped in a little bit of hurt. After all, not many people like to fail.
Seeing the good in failure and seeing the lessons in failure can be a tough thing to do. Our ego might be hurt – we might make excuses or find reasons for that failure that don’t belong to us. “It was their fault,” or “The market just isn’t right,” or “It just wasn’t the right time,” are all things that aren’t to do with us. And if they aren’t to do with us, then we can’t fix them.
The downfall with blaming others or our external situation when something goes wrong is that it also means we cannot control it. And if we cannot control it, we cannot improve it, we cannot make it better for next time. What Thomas J. Watson is saying in his quote is don’t be discouraged by failure, use it to learn. And when you learn and put those lessons into your next attempt, then it is only a matter of time before you win.
– David McLachlan
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