Failure

I never fail. I succeed at finding what doesn't work.

 This is one of my favorite sayings of all time. In the world of IT, new programs have to be learned on the fly, new updates have to be understood right now, changes are dynamic and immediate and you have to keep up. I'm continually finding what doesn't work. Then you back up and go again with the new knowledge.

In life, we are almost always reactive. Things happen and we have to deal with them. Sometimes we don’t deal well. Sometimes we deal quite badly. But, in doing so, we learn that regardless of how we deal with a situation, it’s still the same situation. And the stress we caused ourselves and/or others was completely unnecessary.

Your car gets a flat on the highway. You’re late for an important meeting. You get dirt on your suit changing the tire. You’re pissed. You call your secretary and yell at her to reschedule ASAP. You’re out of breath and your blood pressure is surely off the chart. 

 
Things happen. People know this. They know this because it happens to them too! Your reaction is the only thing you can control. People will understand if you need to reschedule a meeting. It’s life, not life and death. You don’t need the stress of this type of reaction any more than your secretary does. You’ve affected two people very negatively and, very unnecessarily. Getting yourself worked up and then yelling at someone else did not help your tire situation in any way, shape or form. It remained as it was. You, however, and your relationship with your co-worker are now considerably worse for wear. This didn’t work.

You readjust your attitude, apologize to your secretary and apologize to yourself – vowing never to react that way again. And you don’t. You’ve succeeded at finding what didn't work.

Alternately, this is a classic saying for inventors and creators. A first try of anything [typically] never works. Formula 409 was the 409^th compound tested by the inventors. It took Edison 1,000 tries to get the light bulb to work. R. H. Macy failed in the retail industry 7 times. And Babe Ruth, of course, struck out 1,330 times in his career.

Failure has a negative connotation that it doesn’t deserve. Failure is learning. Failure builds experience. Failure shapes character. Failure is the only true path towards success.

Find what doesn’t work, and you'll be closer to finding what does!