“People Think Failure Is Avoidable— It's Not.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2000-03-08) from his book, Failing Forward: How to Makethe Most of Your Mistakes (p. 13). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We all make mistakes.  But the key is what we do with them.  Do we keep making the same ones or do we grow. 

John found these Rules for Being Human. He said, “I think the list describes well the state we're in as people: Rule #1: You will learn lessons. Rule #2: There are no mistakes— only lessons. Rule #3: A lesson is repeated until it is learned. Rule #4: If you don't learn the easy lessons, they get harder. (Pain is one way the universe gets your attention.) Rule #5: You'll know you've learned a lesson when your actions change.”

We’re all going to make mistakes, we’re all going to fail but do we learn from it and change.  That is up to us. 

John also says, “Every person's life is filled with errors and negative experiences. But know this: Errors become mistakes when we perceive them and respond to them incorrectly. Mistakes become failures when we continually respond to them incorrectly. People who fail forward are able to see errors or negative experiences as a regular part of life, learn from them, and then move on. They persevere in order to achieve their purpose in life.”

As James says over in his book in the Bible, James 1:2-4 (The Message), “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

Listen, failure is not avoidable but there is a lesson to be learned. Remember it is a gift.  “So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”  

So are you learning the lesson and changing your actions?