Celebrating Little Victories

Alexa Bricker

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It’s not fun to fail. When we fail, we feel like we’ve let people down or, more importantly, let ourselves down. No matter the size of the loss—be it losing a championship game or missing an opportunity to secure a new sale—losing stinks.

But it’s what we can gain from loss that is often overlooked. Every time you lose, you are are gaining something as well. You’ve just learned how not to do something, and that’s a big step toward figuring out how to be successful at it the next time.

The next time a failure has got you in a rut, think about these little victories that coincide with every loss (and why you should be celebrating them).

You took a risk

No successful person ever achieved their profound level of success without taking a few risks. As cliché as it sounds, the greater the risk, the greater the reward, and you can’t expect to swing and hit a homerun every time. Everyone swings and misses occasionally. Be proud of yourself that you took the risk at all, and get ready to step back up to the plate.

You learned a little bit about yourself

There are a lot of experiences that build character, and failure is one of them. If you are successful every single time you try something new, the only thing you learn to expect is success, making a loss hurt even worse. Take what you feel contributed to the loss, and use your newfound knowledge to your benefit, making adjustments to your tactics until you find the one that works.

You’re building resilience

The ability to adapt and withstand adversity is not only necessary in business, but essential in life. Every time you hit a hurdle, you’re making yourself more adept to be able to jump over the next one. Studies show that our ability to bounce back after a negative experience is key to survival, so each time you fail, you’re really getting a little bit stronger.

You’re giving it your all

You can take comfort in the fact that even though you didn’t succeed, you didn’t give up, either, and that’s just as important. Those who simply throw in the towel and don’t fight for success are stagnant. Remember, you can’t fail if you don’t even try.

Don’t underestimate the power that failing has to turn your entire process around. Take each loss with a grain of salt, celebrate your attempt, and get back in the game.

Written by Alexa Bricker

Creative writer who believes in the power of a well-told story and helpful content.