Background: Not so productive day at work. It’s a new job for me, so I try my best at it, but today wasn’t in my favor. I’m not bummed, just more motivated.
Most people have heavy hearts when they fail, and steer clear of the situation that led to failure. I’ve come to learn that failure is a clue on how to get it right the next time. It’s amazing, this is how the great inventors and business people before us made it happen. This is how greatness is obtained. And what looks like failure to those on the outside, is simply fuel for the person who “failed”. Failure actually occurs when you quit.
The P31 is so amazing to me with how she managed all of her business. Let’s look at her revenue stream: the clothing line. She was a seamstress, distributed products to the merchants and sold linen. Now I can imagine a market in a developing country centuries ago is somewhat similar to a market in developing countries today, crowded, loud, lots of people selling the same things, everyone trying to offer the best price. Now I’m sure the P31 had to negotiate to get her items on someone’s racks or to even get sales of her own linen. Now, she thought her merchandise was good, but I’m sure she got turned down by some merchants and customers. Maybe they didn’t like the style, function or price of her products. Is that a reason to go home and throw your hands up in defeat? Of course not, she obviously went back, day, after day, after day. She developed relationships and ultimately clientele.
Every time a situation doesn’t work out, don’t take it personal and send out an invitation to yourself for a pity party. Think about what happened and find the clues for how to get it right the next time. If you always fight with your spouse about a certain thing or at a certain time, think about ways to diffuse that bomb. The clues are there. At work, if there is a deadline you miss and your client is mad, where could you have done something different to decrease the tension? Or maybe missing the deadline could not have been avoided, could you have communicated better with the client to ease their concerns? Unsuccessful situations are filled with clues on how to do it right the next time. We just have to look past our pride and pain to see them, and muster up enough courage to try again.
Trying again therapeutic. It reminds me of how I feel on the days I go to the gym. I’m dreading going, the end result may be painful, but in the long run it benefits me in so many ways. And this is how I see trying again after “failure”. It may hurt to face people who witnessed your “failure” and it may require you to start over, but in the end, the fact that you didn’t quit says a whole lot. And when success comes out of a failed attempt, the success is so much sweeter. I’m in the hunt for the sweeter reward, even if it is preceded by unsuccessful attempts.
References: Proverbs 31:18,24
