Understanding the Relation Between Failure and Success

What is the link between failure and success? Failure, though agonizing and arduous, is an import step to success. Everyone fails. Take for example, Albert Einstein. Arguably the most famous professor of all time started as a failure of a student. He was constantly skipping class, his teachers thought he was a failure, and he nearly dropped out of school on several occasions. But, building on his failures, he became a brilliant professor, renowned to this day.

The notion of failure 

What is a failure though? There are three easily identifiable types of failure, these are; preventable failures, complex failures, and intellectual failures. Preventable failures are exactly as they sound, “a failure that you had the knowledge and ability to prevent.” A preventable failure may include getting a bad grade on a test that was assigned at an earlier date. Complex failures, again as the name suggests, are a bit more complex than preventable failures. These are often thought of as unavoidable, such as many patients showing up at an emergency room, all in dire need of a doctor. The final type of failure is an intellectual failure, these failures are once in a life-time events that are extremely rare. Due to them being very rare, there is very little of close to no prior knowledge as to what to do. These failures are thought of as good and beneficial, though they can be the most detrimental, they can also be the most gainful.

From failure to success 

Failures, everyone has them, so why do people think that failures are so bad if that person has done the same thing? The biggest argument that unbelievers of this have is that the saying, “Failure is the building blocks of success,” is taken too literal. When people take this too literal, then they try purposely fail which ultimately leads to no success. The unbelievers are wrong, but as well as right in some scenarios. If the saying is taken too literally, and someone tries to fail, and eventually makes things worse, isn’t he/she still learning. That person is learning that purposely failing, and striving for those preventable failures that they are hurting themselves more than helping.

So, how can those failures be used for the better? There are five general categories that can be used to describe the usefulness of failures, these are; to gain knowledge, experience, resilience, growth, and value. All failures will help to gain progress in each of these general categories. Experience, this can be gained from any of the three types of failure, because you come out of these failures with first-hand experience. Knowledge and experience can be bundled together, when someone fails, they gain the knowledge of what to do or not to do the next time that situation occurs. Resilience also comes with failure, so that the next time someone falls down, they are able to get back up just as quickly. Growth and value are the largest of the categories, being that they cover life in general. Growth comes from failure in the aspect that people grow as human beings when they fail. They grow in their understanding so that people can reach a different, deeper meaning to life. That leads into value, when someone fails, “One of the biggest lessons that we can learn from life’s failures is the necessity to create and spread an exceedingly high amount of value.” 

Conclusion

In conclusion, failure is an integral part of the path to success. Albert Einstein's journey from a struggling student to a renowned professor exemplifies the transformative power of embracing failures. While failures may be disheartening, they provide valuable opportunities for growth and learning.

Despite the negative perception of failures, they hold significant value. However, it is important not to interpret the saying 'failure is the key to success' too literally. Purposefully seeking failure can lead to detrimental outcomes. Instead, failures should be embraced as learning opportunities, understanding that some failures are preventable and can be detrimental.