The Truth about Failure

Recently a close friend was laid off from a job he had maintained for over fifteen years. He stated that as a result of losing his job the period of time spent working this particular job felt like a waste of time and also gave him a feeling of failure.  While attempting to provide some solace for his grief I suggested that he look at the alternatives to simply referring to the situation as a failure. It was in this conversation that I found the desire to delve beyond the superficial meaning of the word failure.

In taking the word at face value it appears to be a bleak wall of self-degradation; which every person since the beginning of time has faced. When one does find oneself facing failure its initial emotional impact inspires dark thoughts such as hopelessness, despair, depression, etc.

In life’s journeys every human being faces failure on a daily basis but it’s how we respond when we encounter failure that truly counts. Do we stare hopelessly at the bleak wall and consider it insurmountable or do we interpret the wall more as a step towards our intended goal and strive boldly forward.

Nietzsche states that only a fool sees failure as anything but failure. I would suggest that Nietzsche’s definition of the word is myopic; which I suppose places me in the position of donning the mantle of “the fool”.

There are only two terms that are unwaveringly simplistic in their definition and they are “beginning” and “end”, or life and death, and everything we do from our humble beginnings is in preparation for the end.  Although initially the word failure appears simplistic in meaning, such as beginning and end, it is anything but. The word itself is intangible and only in our own thoughts do we provide it the sanctuary to flourish and exist.

As an example imagine a traveler wandering on foot through a forest attempting to reach a town. He reaches a fork in the path with two possible routes. One route he knows leads to the town while the other does not. Without any prior knowledge on which path is correct or any markings at the fork to help guide him he must make a choice if he wishes to reach his destination. In taking the incorrect path the traveler has simply eliminated one choice in reaching his goal and therefore confirmed which path will provide the desired outcome. This would then mean that through failure he found success and therefore failure is not absolute.

During our short journey from the “beginning” to the “end” human beings constantly encounter what we interpret to be failures or obstacles in our path but its how, or if, we choose to surmount the obstacles that truly gives credence to whether there will be a favorable outcome or not.  Our beginning is but a journey towards our inevitable end. Our successes and perceived failures along the way are merely experiences to be relished and relived once the journey is complete, because the successes and perceived failures are what make the journey worth undertaking to begin with. -HD