Failure

Michael Topping and I went on a hike today and we were talking about failure and how much opportunity there is in failure. 

We agree that there is more often more opportunity in failure than in success. 

When you fail, your deficits become apparent. You learn what you need to improve. 

When you succeed, you're aptitudes are the most apparent. We usually know where our aptitudes lie. We hide behind then. We employ them as often as possible.

Our deficits are what we haven't learned yet, so often our deficits are hidden to us.

Failure allows the opportunity to see the holes in our thinking. To learn and then to set new goals for moving forward.

I asked Michael if there was anything you can do that gives more opportunity than failure.

He answered, "Asking questions."
Such a great answer!

Asking questions allows you to fail without the pain of actually failing. The opportunity to learn lessons through the understanding of other people's thinking - through their failures - without expending the resources a person has to expend in order to fail on their own.

We also believe that people have to come to their own conclusions. They have to learn their own lessons. That we all have resources through which we can become better informed and that can help us succeed, but our own success is our own responsibility.

So, although you can become informed by asking others questions.
- By studying the thinking of others. By really listening to the information provided to you. - The most valuable thing you can do is ask yourself questions.

Through asking yourself questions you allow yourself to come to your own conclusions.

Through this, your successes are your own successes and your failures are your own failures. At that point, there is opportunity. Opportunity to learn, then to help yourself, and then to help your community.

Michael and I wrote this together. We like it.

"With every mistake we must surely be learning." - The Beatles - My Guitar Gently Weeps