Top 10 Ways to Cope with Failure

 

There are times when things simply don’t go according to plan. You may be expecting a promotion, some good news in the family, an opportunity that would have benefited you or maybe you lost a race you have been training for weeks.

Failure can be difficult to handle and when not dealt with properly, can lead to depression, anxiety, and make you less likely to take risks.

Failure doesn’t have to mean the end and it is never permanent.

Here are the top 10 ways to cope with Failure

1) Accept your emotions

You’ve worked so hard on that task or assignment only to find out that you have failed at it. It can make you feel angry, frustrated, and sad. It is okay to give in to your emotions at that point rather than keep everything bottled up.

2) Accept that you may have made mistakes too

When you are finally ready to analyze where things went wrong, do it with complete honesty. If you feel you may have made a mistake, learn to accept it. Accepting mistakes is one way to move forward from what happened.

3) Learn from the incident

Experiences act as teachers. They are there to give out important lessons. Take note of all the things that went wrong and see what you could have done differently.

In this way, you will learn and not make the same mistakes again. In the future, you may be able to avoid the same situation that caused a failure.

4) Don’t resort to unhealthy habits

It’s easy to give in to vices when you feel hopeless and dejected. You need to realize that excessive smoking or drinking is not going to solve your problems, rather, they will make you feel better for only a few moments. In some cases, they may not provide any relief at all and you may end up feeling worse about your situation.

5) Take a break if you feel overwhelmed

If you feel like you cannot assess the failure with a proper and clear mind, take a walk. Go outside and immerse yourself in nature and your surroundings. This outing may help pull you out of your wallowing and help you look at your problems from a different angle.

6) Understand that you can try again

The one thing you should learn from any situation that doesn’t work your way is that you should never give up. There is always a choice to try again or see a different route. If something doesn’t work out once, try again. If you feel you cannot put yourself in that position again, try seeking an alternate route that will help you live the life you want.

The bottom line is to never give up no matter how hard the situation may seem.

Things tend to get better when you least expect it.

7) Make a plan on what to do next

It is time to move on from that failure that seemed so debilitating. While you may feel frustrated at things going awry after putting in so much blood and sweat and energy, you have to pull yourself up and make plans what to do next.

It is up to you to decide to keep working until you finally get a win or look for new opportunities and a different route to solve a problem.

8) Remind yourself that you failed because you tried

Failure can make you want to take less risks. You may find yourself being too afraid to try new things after that one failure.

You need to remind yourself that in spite of everything, the fact that you tried means you were brave enough to want to try.

Life doesn’t get easier when you stop taking risks. You will still experience hurdles in some form or another.

But when you take a chance or take a risk, you are being brave and true to yourself for wanting to change your situation.

9) Remind yourself you aren’t the only one who has experienced failure

You are apt to feel like the only person in the world who has experienced failure. You may feel so depressed and end up believing that the whole world is better and successful whereas you are just a disappointment.

We tend to feel that way because we do not know everyone’s story.

At some point or another, all of us have experienced to failure in some form. It all depends on how you react to failures.

In case you want to feel better about your situation, read up on how famous people have also gone through failures and devastating circumstances, yet found the courage to stand up and move on.

You are not the only person who is going through a difficult time and you are not the person to whom all bad things happen.

Everyone has their own challenges to face in life.

10) Learn to let go and focus on the future

When you know there is nothing you can do about what happened to you, it is time to learn how to let go. It’s going to be difficult at first and you will find yourself up at nights thinking about your failure.

As time passes, the pain of experiencing a failure will lessen and you will be able to build up the strength to pick yourself again.

Focus on the future and how you can build a better life yourself post the failure you have experienced.

There is always hope for a better tomorrow.