How intelligent people use failure to their advantage.

Failure is not final and at the same time failure is inevitable. Why are some people are called smart? They are called smart people because they have achieved different results from the rest of the world given the same circumstances. Having a twin doesn’t mean that the both people will end up successful. Only the smart one will excel. I had twin friends back in high school, today one is a PhD holder while his twin did not go beyond high school. Failure starts from the choices we make.

Some people fail in life due to fear of failure. 

The truth is that fear of failure is worse than failure itself because it condemns you to a life of unrealized potential. No wonder a wise man said “the grave is filled with talented people with unrealized potentials.” In a study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers found that success in the face of failure comes from focusing on results rather than trying not to fail. Let’s see some of the ways smart people use failure to their advantage.

1. Smart people prepare for the worst but hope for the best. To be successful in life one needs to expect the best, yet plan for the worst. It’s no surprise that smart people are very much aware of this. To live a life without a plan is to plan to fail. The danger is that things don’t always go as we plan them. At times, plans do work out without any hitch and some other times it doesn’t work at all. Because smart people have experienced series of failures and setbacks they have come up with a strategy to protect themselves at any point in time and this is the principle that covers them at such times.

2.Perspective (smart people view failure differently). How we view things differs and this shows in the way different people handles failure. Behind each failure and setback are valuable lessons. If you view failure as failure then you just wasted your time and opportunity, but if you view failure as an opportunity to learn from the experience and what works and what doesn’t then even you failed you just made it worth your time. Smart people view failure as a learning curve.

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”

– Henry Ford

3.Smart people know how to bounce back. Bouncing back is one of the key differences between smart people and ordinary people. Everyone who is alive today knows about overcoming failures. Think about when you were a baby, you didn’t just stand up and start walking. You learnt how to walk after a series of failures but those small knockdowns didn’t stop you from trying. Today you walk, run and even compete in sports all because you never allowed those childhood knock downs to keep you down.Smart people keep that principle in mind and use it even after they become successful. Being knocked down is not the same as being knocked out. Get back on your feet and give it another fight. I wrote extensively about this topic some time ago.

4. Smart people offer an explanation to their failures, but never make excuses. Smart people are so bold that they honestly own to their mistakes. Owning your mistakes can sincerely enhance your image and will lead to self-growth. It shows a high level of confidence, accountability, and integrity. Just be sure to stick to the facts. “We lost the account because I missed the deadline,” is a reason. “We lost the account because my dog was sick all weekend and that made me miss the deadline,” is an excuse. 

From #admin_oknotchblog