How To Restart Life After Failure

How to Restart Life After Failure

How to restart life after failure is a topmost concern of a person who has gone through a significant number of failures in life and in business.

However, the ability to put a positive spin on the experiences will determine how fast you can bounce back from the failures.

Failing at something can be an opportunity in disguise, as it gives you the benefit of doing it better the next time armed with hindsight and experience gained from past failures.

In this article I am going to look at

• What to do when you fail again and again?
• How do you turn failure into opportunity? and 
• Getting back up after failure quotes.

What To Do When You Fail Again and Again?

I am going to now present you with tips on how to overcome failure after failure when you are faced with one.

See Failure as a Source of Experience: Failure is a part of success because it is the greatest teacher and best friend to the many  great and successful people. When you fail, you learn  vital lessons which you can call upon in your next venture and can help you come back stronger.

Talking about experience, Author Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said in the beginning of life, God gives everybody an imaginary key ring. Every time a person exposes himself to a situation such as failing at something, they get another key of experience for their key ring. Soon, the key ring begins to fill with thousands and millions of keys of experience. They get to use the same keys over and over again. The law of exposure to experience gets better with years. Finally, a person gets to know which key unlocked which door, while the inexperienced don’t know if they have a key. All they can do is fumble around and hope to add another key of experience, because each time you do, you are boosting your portfolio of experiences in your key ring. 

So don’t be afraid to go out and try new things, because in the process you either win or acquire experiences in your key ring. Which either way is a win.

Re-evaluate Your Path: This means taking a cursory look at your life or business, to determine where you are lacking and what is causing you problems and coming up with the solutions to tackle the problem areas. 

You may need to redefine your goals and objectives, and chart a new course and direction for your life. You may also need to assess your skills, knowledge and state of preparedness for the tasks that cause you to fail and determine the way forward.

Doing this evaluation can bring to light the reasons for the failure and help you to succeed the next time around.

Adapt and Innovate: Sometimes when you fail repeatedly, it could be as a result of your inability to adapt to the changing times, as well as innovate by discovering new uses to old products and services.

For anyone to stay relevant in the scheme of things they must learn to adapt to new trends and come up with innovations to help them stay afloat.

An example of this is Apple Inc. who was failing at one time and are about to go bankrupt. But then, they adapted to the changes and came up with the iPod, which revolutionized the music industry at the time. Since then the company has come up with different innovations to stay afloat. That’s why they are the largest capitalized company in history.

Set Realistic Goals: Most times the goals we set for ourselves are not realistic and achievable. That is why we fail again and again to achieve them.

Take for example, a high school student setting a goal to be an Army General upon graduation.

Of course, he will fail woefully because the goal is not achievable. For this goal to be realistic, the student must first make plans to get admitted into the military academy for officer training. Where he can qualify as second lieutenant upon graduation after rigorous training at the end of 5 years.

Even at that, he may still need to put in a better part of 25 years or more to become a decorated General.

I hope you get the drip of what setting a realistic goal means. It means breaking down your larger goals into subgoals that are easier to achieve.

Take Calculated Risk: Taking calculated risk will reduce the odds of failing. Taking calculated risk means understanding the risk- reward ratio of your goals or the tasks you set for yourself.

I have seen many people take risks based on their greed and quest for big gains.

That is the type of people who invest their money on Ponzi schemes that promise big return on investment (ROI) for a small amount of money. The end result being a loss of some or all of their investment.

Taking calculated risk means taking risk that is proportionate to the reward you will get from it.

This can be applied to every area of life other than investment. Taking calculated risk can be applied to a job, sports and schooling.

Have a Mentor: A mentor is someone who has traveled the path you are traveling and have emerged unscathed from the wear and tear of the journey and becomes successful and have gained experiences.

Finding a mentor can reduce significantly the number of failures you may encounter because the mentor would show you the pitfalls along the way. 

So in trying to restart your life after failing, finding a mentor could make the process easier for you.

Stay Positive and Be Confident: Staying positive and maintaining your level of confidence when faced with hardships is hard. And although, that is when you need your positivity and confidence to work at all cylinders.

How do you achieve a high level of positivity and a confident disposition? I think it is by having the right attitude towards your failures and even your successes.

The right attitude enables you to see things correctly and knowing that everything that happens to you is an opportunity to make you a better person.

Visualize Success: Learn to use the power of visualization in your life. Visualizing your goal as if already achieved puts you in a better place to achieve them. My post “Does the power of visualization work”  covered everything you need to know about using the visualization techniques.

Acceptance Of  Your Situation: Most people that have failed lived in self denial, and always put the blame of their failings on the Government, family members, the society, and anything other than themselves. Putting blame on others means you are not willing to learn the lessons that life is trying to teach you. 

The clear alternative is accepting yourself and the situation. When you do, you let go of the guilt and the healing process begins.

This will therefore facilitate ideas to rush towards you that can get you out of the brink.

Read Self Help Books and Biographies: It may not sound like much to do this. But, I recall this was one of the steps that helped me bounce back from the failure of my wrist bracelet business in 2009.

When you read self help books, you tend to gain back your confidence when you realize that others have traveled this road before you. Biographies tell you the stories of great men and how they arrived at the top. Most times they had to go through harrowing and debilitating experiences to win.

Knowing that your losses are not peculiar to you, makes you walk with your head high as you take on more difficult tasks in the journey of life.

Giving Off Of Yourself By Volunteering: Volunteering and giving of yourself in some worthy course is a great technique to cope with losses. Many people have used this art of selflessness to help stay healthy as they remove attention from their worries and replace it with the need to lift others up.

In trying to bring succor to others, they happen to also save themselves from headache and pain occasion by their failure and disappointments.

Consider Professional Help: When all else fails. You may need to talk to a counselor or a psychiatrist who are trained in the art of helping people find their balance and regaining the right viewpoint about the purpose and objectives of living.

A good counselor can help you analyze and evaluate the cause of your problems.

Let God Help You: Sometimes when you have done your very best and expended yourself in hardwork and the wrongs refuse to get right.

Maybe that is when you need to step back and allow a higher power to take charge of your affairs.

Surrendering to God and letting go of your worries is a great technique that has helped many great men surmount daunting obstacles.

 There are many other examples, both in the Christian Bible and in modern times.

When faced with challenges, these men turned to God for strength, guidance, and wisdom. They believed that God would help them to succeed, and they were often rewarded for their faith.

It is important to note that seeking the help of God does not mean that business will always be easy. There will still be challenges and obstacles to overcome.

However, believing that God is with you can give you the strength and courage to persevere. It can also help you to make wise decisions and avoid making mistakes.

Examples of individuals who run their businesses with God as their partner are Dave Thomas and S Truett Cathy.

Dave Thomas, the founder of the fast-food chain Wendy’s, often spoke about his strong belief in God and how it played a significant role in his business journey. He credited his success to his faith and even wrote a book titled “Well Done!: The Common Guy’s Guide to Everyday Success,” where he shared his spiritual and business insights.

Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, was known for his Christian values and his belief in incorporating those values into his business. The company’s famous policy of closing on Sundays was a reflection of his faith, and he often spoke about the importance of prayer and faith in his life and business.

Read about S Truett Cathy and his devotion to God. You can emulate the businessmen profile here by making God your partner.

How To Turn Failure To Opportunity.

The great Napoleon Hill, it was who said every failure and obstacles hold the key to greater opportunities. In this section I am going to explore how we can recognize and tap the opportunities inherent in failure.

Failure is An Opportunity to Acquire New Skills: Your failure can be an indication that you need to change something that no longer serves you. This could be changing old habits, thought patterns, attitudes and skills.

Today, we have new trends in technology, agriculture, fashion, and education to mention but a few.

Doing things the old way may lead to failure each time. These failures could be telling you to acquire new knowledge by learning to do things the new way.

For example, Artificial intelligence (machine learning), robotics, wearables devices, and the internet of things (IoT), all require a shift in knowledge to benefit from their application.

If your business needs any of these new trends to thrive, you may need to acquire the needed skills to keep your business afloat or perish. 

Big tech companies and their owners have managed to survive in the changing world because of their ability to adapt to changes.

I Think you should do the same to increase your odds of success in a changing world.

Failure as An Opportunity to Pivot: Twitter now known as X, started as a podcasting platform. But suffered losses because of failing to gain traction. Partly due to a better and bigger option in the market -the Apple podcast platform.

Odeo, as it was known then, was going to go bankrupt. But the founders and employees recognized that every disappointment and failure contained within it the seed of a greater opportunity.

They would meet once a week to brainstorm ideas for the new direction the company would take.

From out of those sessions came the idea of Twitter, a microblogging platform. When you fail, instead of throwing your hands up in exasperation, calm down, breathe and ask yourself what is this problem trying to show me.

When you find a new direction, go out and execute with confidence.

Failure As Opportunity to Build New Solutions: Sometimes the opportunities presented to you by failure does not need you to pivot but to make corrections and build a better solution. Examples of these are giving below: 

Tesla: The first Tesla Roadster was released in 2008. It was a good car, but it was expensive and had limited range. Tesla learned from its mistakes and released the Model S in 2012, which was more affordable and had a longer range. The Model S was also more luxurious and had more features than the Roadster.

You can read about Tesla Roadster To Model S Plaid: How EV Battery Technology Has Advanced Since 2008

Apple: The first Apple MacIntosh computer was released in 1984, but it was not a commercial success. Apple learned from its mistakes and released the iMac in 1998, which was a huge success. The iMac was more user-friendly, had a more modern design, and was priced more affordably than the MacIntosh.

For more on the story of Apple and it’s success read: How “Macintosh” Became Mac: A Brief History of Apple’s Computers…

Microsoft: The first version of Windows, Windows 1.0, was released in 1985. It was a commercial failure, but Microsoft learned from its mistakes and released Windows 3.0 in 1990, which was a huge success. Windows 3.0 was more stable, had a more user-friendly interface, and was more compatible with software than Windows 1.0.

Failure as An Opportunity to Acquire New Virtues: Many people who seemingly would have been vain and egotistical are now humble because of the experiences of failure.

Failure has a way to confer mortality and vincibility on you.

It shows you that you are human and still have much to learn while you are still living on earth.

Apart from the virtues of humility, you can learn forgiveness, contentment, detachment, patience and using discretion among others, which can ease your passage through life.

You see, depending on the attitude you hold, your failings can help improve your life in hundreds of ways.

Getting Back Up After Failure Quotes

This section looks at getting back up after failure quotes. These quotes exist to serve as a reminder that failure is part of the process of success. Read them with an open mind and contemplate on the true meaning of the quote.

• “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
• “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
• “Don’t let yesterday’s failures define today’s potential.” -Unknown 
• “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
• “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” – Truman Capote
• “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einsteinown
• “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
• “Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo.” – Jon Sinclair
• “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
• “Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.” – Sumner Redstone
• “The only real failure is the failure to try.” – Unknown
• “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” – Zig Ziglar
• “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
• “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.” – Denis Waitley
• “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill
• Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
• “The phoenix must burn to emerge.” – Janet Fitch
• “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
• “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
• “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what the storm is all about.” – Haruki Murakami
• “The only time you don’t get back up is when you stop trying.” – Unknown
• “The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.” – Aristotle
• “Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington
• “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs
• “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” – George S. Patton
• “Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.” – Albert Einstein
• “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
• “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
• “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
• “The only people who never fail are those who never try.” – Vera Wang
• “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only way you are going to succeed is to be willing to fail.” – Mark Zuckerberg
• “It’s okay to be afraid, but don’t let fear stop you.” – Amelia Earhart
• “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
• “The only way to learn is by doing.” – John Dewey
• “The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how you use it.” – Jack Canfield
• “Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.” – Albert Einstein
• “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” – Vince Lombardi
• “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.” – Douglas MacArthur
• “The only way to fail is to give up.” – Thomas A. Edison

Life Restarts Quotes

• “Starting over begins when I develop a reawakened appreciation for what I already have, a renewed recognition of what I’ve recklessly forsaken, a rehabilitated understanding that I foolishly do both of those things, and a revitalized commitment to live the rest of my life never doing either of them again” –Craig D. Lounsbrough
• “Life is a song, sing it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a sacrifice, offer it. Life is love, enjoy it” –Unknown
• “Never restart a journey and use the same road that failed you before” –Dennis E. Adonis
• “Every sunset is an opportunity to reset” –Richie Norton
• “Sometimes, you just have to start all over differently.” -Bernard Kelvin Clive
• “I’ve been victimized but that doesn’t mean I have to be a victim” –Gordon Korman
• “Life is the only game which has no pause, no resume and no restart. You have to be careful enough to never fail” –M.F. Moonzajer
• “It is life. It makes us laugh an hour, and it laughs at us another” –Ahmed Mayouf
• “Forget them completely. Delete their memories. Restart your life” –Garima Soni
• “Intelligence is knowing how to quit. Genius is knowing when to quit. But only the courage allows you to quit” –Sarvesh Jain
• “Do you ever feel like you have been stopped dead in your tracks? That you have fallen and can’t get up? Or like you are stuck in a rut or wading in muck? Paralysis, inertia, and being stuck, can be disempowering and disabling. What is it going to take for you to restart your engines and get moving again?” –Susan C. Young
• “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do” –Georgia O’Keeffe
• “One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest in themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions choose you”– Jeff Bezos
• “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing, but what you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself”. – Alan Alda
• “You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea” – Larry Page, 
• “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work”. –Colin Powell, 
• “I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interest in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies” – Christa McAuliffe 
• “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly”. – Franz Kafka
• “I suffer from the delusion that every product of my imagination is not only possible, but always on the cusp of becoming real”– Sean Parker
• “Would you do your job and not be paid for it? I would do this job, and take on a second job just to make ends meet if nobody paid me. That’s how you know you are doing the right thing”. – Oprah, 
• “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it”. – Michael Jordan
• “Hopefully life is long. Do stuff you will enjoy thinking about and telling stories about for many years to come. Do stuff you will want to brag about”– Rachel Maddow
• “When you get fed up with your life, don’t even think to stop it but to restart it with a new hope, hope of getting better” – Omer Dar
• “I was going to say do what you love, but that’s not really it. When I think about it, the happiest and most successful people I know don’t just love what they do, they’re obsessed with solving something that matters to them”– Drew Houston
• “You can get what you want or you can just get old” – Billy Joel
• “The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.” –Arnold Bennett
• “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” –Joseph Campbell
• “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” –L.M. Montgomery

Conclusion:

As I wind down on this article- how to restart life after failure. I hope you have learned something about how you can manage your failures and don’t let them dull your shine. As you have seen, it is not a bad thing to fail, if not for anything, it is an opportunity to create a better life for yourself and for humanity. You only need to have the right attitude to win and keep going when times are hard.

 

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