Have you ever wanted to quit?
Maybe you decided to join a ballet class, but it felt too difficult. Or you had an incredible business idea, but it didn’t get the response you wanted, and didn’t make any sales.
It is so easy to quit in life, especially when you have received negative feedback. When your great idea is rejected, doesn’t it mean that it isn’t so great after all? What’s the point of trying again?
The reason not to quit is that no number of failures guarantees that your pursuit can’t be successful.
Success Could Be Right Around the Corner
You never know when you will succeed. Sometimes it just takes one more try. So why quit?
Abraham Lincoln tried twice to become a US Senator and lost both times. But the next time, he ran for president. And he won. That led him to become one of the most important men in US history, one who is remembered to have signed the famous Emancipation Proclamation.
JK Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter was rejected not once, twice, or even thrice. Rather, the idea was rejected twelve times. She could have easily quit. Yet, here she is, now the author of the best-selling book series of all time, having sold over 500 million books around the world. She is known and cherished across the globe, as is her series.
You never know when your idea will be accepted. You never know which try will be your final one, catapulting you to success.
Failing is Part of Success
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
When you look at successful people throughout history, they failed multiple times before they found success. And these are people who changed our world so significantly, our world wouldn’t be what it is today without their persistence.
Think of a sport you love. If you quit the first time the other team scores, would you ever win? Of course not. There are so many games where the team that was losing badly in the first half, suddenly returns with energy, and in a surprising turn of events, wins the game.
Winning is winning, no matter how many times you fail in the process.
There is No Overnight Success
There are countless stories of overnight success. Of suddenly rising to fame. But what we don’t see is that behind the sudden success were years of struggle, hard work, and rejection.
Sure, we see the sudden growth of a YouTube channel after a video goes viral. But what about the years of posting consistently, with no audience and no one watching? I can tell you from experience with my own channel that success definitely does not happen overnight.
We might hear a story of an actor who suddenly got picked up by a renowned director and rose to success. But what about the years of learning their craft, preparing for this moment, auditioning, and struggling?
These stories make us feel like we are doing something wrong if we don’t succeed on the first try or in a short span of time. But what we must remember, is that behind all these stories, there are countless failures, lessons, and moments of determination that we don’t see.
Failures are Lessons and Experience
When you fail, you receive something invaluable. You receive lessons and experience that you wouldn’t have learned had you succeeded on the first try.
So, the next time you fail, ask yourself:
- What can I do better?
- What can I do differently?
- What did I learn this time that showed me that the method I used didn’t work?
- What experience did I gain from this that I can apply going forward?
And with this information, you can reach even greater heights of success than you would have had you succeeded the first time.
Winning does not mean that you never lose. Rather, it means that you never quit. Success is never guaranteed, but if you quit, failure sure is.
Remember, every famous artist was once a struggling artist. Every wealthy entrepreneur was once a simple person with an idea that may have been rejected multiple times. Every great success started from somewhere. So, persevere, and don’t quit. If you are failing, you are on the road to success.
