I follow a few sporting events, particularly soccer. When a club wins the league at the
end of the season, it is not that they never suffered any defeat in their campaign. The
victory came despite the losses. So is life generally. You will never meet anyone who
now enjoy the thrills of victory without previously knowing the pain of defeat. What most
successful people do is look past their failure and redouble efforts at achieving their
goals. Thomas J. Watson, the former CEO of IBM, who helped grow the company in its
glory days said: “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate”.
That sounds ironic, but it is true. As long as you do not allow any failure to keep you
from making fresh attempts, you will meet success somewhere along the way.
“Everyone must learn the art of managing setbacks.”
Everyone must learn the art of managing setbacks. That one does not reach his set
goal at first call does not mean he will never reach it. Those who have succeeded will
tell you that it was not the first stroke that brought them the breakthrough. The ability to
stick to something for as long as necessary is the bottom line for success. The mistake
of most people is they tend to make particular mistakes or failures as final. When you
fail at something, do a bit of research to determine the cause of your failure. Doing this
would have taught you a vital lesson on how not to do it another time. Besides, the
experience you gained in your previous attempt may be the salvation someone would
need tomorrow to avoid a blunder.