Blog Post: The Benefits of Failure

Failure forces one to look for answers.  We can look outside of ourself, and find someone to blame for our lack of success, or we can look inside, and learn how we contributed to the situation and maybe make some positive changes in the process. 

I read the 357th commencement speech at Harvard, given by JK Rowling, on the benefits of failure.  In part she said,

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

"You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned."

This is so true

An unexpected or prolonged job search is an event that tests all of our abilities.  It's often viewed as a personal failure, even if it wasn't your fault or anything you could control.  Failure produces frustration, an energy to consider other options.  Options then become opportunities; to evaluate, investigate, and make changes to become who we want to be. 

So, next time life throws you an "opportunity", approach change with the knowlege you will survive, and your survival will make you stronger, more confident, and more empathetic. 

It is a true gift. 

Once the transition is complete and you can see how far you've come, that is.  In the meantime it is the pits.

Sue Arth is a consultant offering individual and corporate services in change management, career development, training, coaching and conflict resolution.  For more information, contact me at suearth@yahoo.com