Fail forward, fail fast, fail often. All bits of advice we get on the glamorization of failure. Failure is learning. Failure leads to success. Failure makes you stronger. Failure is only bad if you don’t learn from it.
Bullshit.
Failure hurts. Failure stings. People make fun of failures. Failure is a stigma. In the social media space, failure is elevated, chastised, criticized, and crucified. If failure was really that good for us, and if we were really that accepting of it, people would be admitting to their failures all the time. Instead, most people succeed in public, then suffer failures in solitude. I bet I guarantee there are way more people struggling than you know. Most will never admit though because of the stigma attached to failing.
When we learn from success, we learn how to win. When we learn from failure, we only learn how not to lose.
I read a post yesterday about why we need to fail often in social media. I couldn’t disagree more.
Look at the blogs in the social media space. They are filled with examples of companies doing it wrong. The space is filled with sarcasm, snark, and a general beating down of the mistaken. We take every error and propel it to the forefront for everyone to see. We prop these mistakes up against the wall and start casting stones. Then we circulate that post, gather our group, and commence with the mob mentality.
We don’t forgive. We drag out these mistakes and make examples of them for years to come. We don’t forget. When these companies rectify the issue, we tend to ignore it and give them the it’s too late for that stance.
Failure may be a great teacher, but it’s a lousy banker.
How long will United break guitars? How long will Motrin be mommy haters? For as long as social media types need case studies.
We want others to forgive and forget quickly when we err, but rarely do we afford others such luxury.
Imagine if a company lie Ikea scoured the web for all the ways people have messed up putting their furniture together. Now imagine their instructions didn’t tell you how to assemble,imagine they just showed pictures and examples of all the people who did it wrong. How long would you remain a customer of Ikea’s? You’d never shop there again for fear of being their next example.
Failure is inevitable. Failure is imminent. Failure is part of life.
Failure is never easy. Failure is rarely pain free. Failure is rarely tolerated.
Your failures do not define you as a person. Your failures do not make you a failure as a human. You are not your failures.
Failure is an event, not a person.
Until we show that we are as tolerant and accepting of failure and mistakes as we say we are, maybe we need to stop glamorizing it.
