Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. – Henry Ford

You seem to be doing everything right but somehow you always fail. That makes you have a negative opinion about yourself, lose hope and lack motivation to persevere.

But you know what? Everyone fails. With one exception – those who don’t try at all.

So if you have got to that point, you’ve obviously done something. This itself is a great start and once you’ve started, it’s not so difficult to continue.

Every successful person has failed somewhere on the road.

Inventors had tried many times before they created something that actually worked and helped people – the TV set and the computer weren’t invented from scratch. Great writers didn’t get famous with their first book. Instead, they spent many years of working hard, trying to make their work perfect so that it can touch the reader in a special way.

Every great thing we have today started from a simple idea, and the idea was a result of a try, which – of course – was followed by many others.

Okay, you know all that. But still failed. The big question here is what to do next.

How to Benefit from Failure

1.  Accept it.

What’s done is done. You can only accept the past. Don’t think about it over and over again. There is no point in worrying about something that cannot be changed. Instead, use your energy to affect the future by acting consciously and reasonably.

2. Learn from it.

The best thing to do is to draw a lesson from what happened so that you can make it better next time.

3. Analyze it.  

Discuss the situation with family or friends. They can give you the support and explanation you need.

But you will also have to think it over by yourself. Try to answer the following questions as honestly as you can. Write them down if you want.

• Did you believe in yourself?
• Did you hesitate long before you tried?
• At which moment did you feel doubt or fear of failure?
• Were there other people involved that affected the situation?
• Were you motivated enough?
• Did you have the right information?
• Did you use it correctly?
• Was that goal relevant and achievable?
• Did you plan what to do?
• Did you follow the plan?
• Were there any setbacks you could have foreseen?
• What exactly did you expect to happen?
• What other factors had an influence on your behavior?

Now look at the answers and try to draw a conclusion from your overall performance. Maybe you need to rewrite your goals and steps.  Consider all disadvantages, because if you didn’t succeed there was obviously something wrong.

4. Be grateful.

Take it as a gift. Appreciation will make you feel so much better.

5. Prepare.  

This time you will be prepared. Use the information from the analysis and try not to repeat any of the things that in your opinion led to failure.

6. Don’t lose enthusiasm.  

Be even more enthusiastic this time.

7. Benefit from it.   

Look on the bright side and admire all your willpower, desire to succeed and perseverance. Now you are stronger, smarter, better prepared, more experienced and even more motivated.

8. Work harder.  

Do everything possible because if you are really determined to do it, then it must be pretty important to you.

 9. Set your mind to it.  

Before you become successful in reality, you need to do it in your mind. So think about success, accept it as an inevitable part of your journey and be ready for it.

10. Just do it.

Do it again. Do it now. Do it better. Do it right and finish what you’ve started.

Don’t doubt your ability to achieve your goals. You were meant to be great and have all the physical and mental tools to become so. Keep your head up! Remember that there were many others like you who were once insecure and felt hopeless but after trying again and again they became professionals in their field – those are the people we use as role models today.

It is said that if you make just one person believe in you, you can make many others too. And then you can get what you want.

I believe in you!

Wherever you live, whoever you are, whatever you’ve done, I believe that you can change for the better, benefit from failure, improve and become a successful person who will someday help others go after their goals.