Celebrating Failure

A moment that I wanted to give up was when I was trying to select a venture concept.  I actually had come up with a really good idea.  I had imagined a portable, solar powered, rechargeable, light source.  I thought this idea would be revolutionary because it could bring light to people who have no access to electricity. 

I thought this idea was practical, innovative and above all, it would help numerous people around the world.  I had already considered its design when after doing some research, I discovered that this idea had already been created, patent pending, and it was recently placed on the market.  When I realized this, I was devastated because it was an idea that I had been seriously considering for some time.

It was difficult to accept that this idea was no longer a possibility.  However, I took some comfort in knowing that the idea itself was actually good enough for someone else to think of it and it had enough potential for someone to run with it.  This caused me to become more open to alternative concepts and to consider their potential.  I also realized that although similar ideas may coexist, the objective is to make any endeavor stand out in its own unique or improved way.  

Failure is extremely difficult because it can lead to self-doubt.  Once I began examining this concept I realized that we all have a tendency to be hard on ourselves.  Our self-worth seems to be somehow connected to our accomplishments and even more so to what we fail to accomplish.  I think that the most important thing to remember is that what we do is not who we are.  What we do is simply a choice.  The great thing about that is that if we don’t like the choice we made, then all we have to do is to choose again.  After all, the greatest way to learn is to experiment with experience.

This class has not only taught me that it is alright to fail, but that it is even advantageous.  Each failure is an opportunity to see what works and what needs to change.  The experience alone can be inspiring and lead to a new idea or process that simply never would have occurred had it not been for that failure.  I have also noticed that while failure may bring on a sense of loss, the knowledge and experience gained are extremely useful in facilitating the next attempt.