Keep Failing

The secret to success isn’t avoiding failure. It’s learning from your mistakes and continuing to move forward.

The television series Alone is a survival competition where participants survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible. Contestants are given minimal equipment and must build their own shelters, start their own fires, and find their own food. The physical demands are brutal.

One of the contestants, Colter Barnes, lost 86 pounds over 67 days in the wild and had to be medically evacuated. And yet he said the psychological rigors were harder for him to endure than the physical. At first, he felt like a failure because he struggled to catch the animals and fish he needed for food. But as the days went by, he realized that the right perspective could turn his failures into steppingstones on the pathway to success. When things didn’t work out the way he hoped, he chose to believe that he wasn’t failing. He was facing his fears, learning new skills, and deepening his character.

The path toward a successful career, a strong marriage, or thriving kids is fraught with challenges. But failure is only a reality if we stop trying. When adversity comes, we can give up, or we can dig deep, challenge ourselves to be stronger, and keep moving forward.

Don’t quit too soon. Lean into your problems and persevere. You might be on the brink of turning your stumbles into success.