How Well Do You Handle Failure?
We are human, therefore we cannot help but fail. We lose relationships. At times, we parent in ways we later regret. We make mistakes at work. We fail to win or succeed at all we do. How we handle failure makes all the difference in the world to our ability to grow, learn, and move forward. Take the quiz below to see how you tend to handle failure.
True OR False
Set 1
1. I make realistic (safe) choices about what to do. If I’m unsure whether I can succeed at something, I don’t do it.
2. I feel so ashamed after losing a job that I can’t bear to see colleagues from that workplace again.
3. If I fail at something, I give up and take it as evidence that I’m not “meant” to do that.
4. I gave up thinking about what I want long ago, because I know I’m never going to get it.
5. I’m better off by myself; experience proves that I’m a failure at relationships.
6. I act as though failure means nothing to me. I don’t want people to see my pain and humiliation.
7. Failure does nothing but point out my deficiencies and flaws. I do everything I can to avoid it.
Set 2
1. I work hard on self-forgiveness after failing at something. I replace “if only...” with “next time...” so that I keep focused on the future.
2. I know what I want, and no failure will stop me from getting there.
3. I expect to make mistakes. I incorporate the possibility for failure into everything I do so that I’m not devastated when it happens.
4. I may feel inferior and humbled when I fail, but I use that to point the way to where I need to change or grow.
5. I try to see the humor in a situation. It helps me accept failure with more grace and self-acceptance.
6. If I’ve made a mistake, I take responsibility for it and work to fix it. Guilt doesn’t become part of the equation.
7. Rather than beat myself up for failing, I get curious. I reflect on the experience and ask myself questions such as: What have I learned and gained? How can this failure serve me? What am I really trying to accomplish?
If you answered true to more questions in Set 1 than in Set 2, you are missing excellent opportunities to learn from your mistakes, improve your feelings about yourself and live more courageously. These lessons allow us to retain hope and the instinct for joy, and make us better prepared for life’s journey.
*Disclaimer: This is for information purposes only.
