There are many times in life when it may feel like we are chasing after dead ends.
We invest so much of our time and efforts into something just to find out down the line that the outcome we were expecting is not the outcome we manifested.
These moments can bring about negative feelings towards ourselves, often trapping us in a whirlwind of emotion and thinking that because we didn't get what we wanted that we are not good enough to have what we actually want.
Part of this is a sad but true realization.
When we invest a lot of our time into someone or something and do not achieve the desired outcome, it simply means we did not learn everything that we needed to learn to get to the desired outcome.
As humans, we are so quick to think we are onto something good, until it doesn't go as planned and we all of the sudden feel worthless and feel like we wasted our time.
The only time these kinds of situations could truly be seen as a waste of time is if we fail to learn from our shortcomings.
If we fail to learn why it is that we failed, we will continue to repeat the same behavior and achieve the same undesired outcomes in life.
We will continue to fall for the wrong pursuits if we fail to learn why we came up short of achieving what it is we set out to achieve.
These failures are all a part of the process - they simply reflect that there is something that we do not know and that we are missing to get to where we want to go.
Every success comes with even more failures.
But when it comes to failure, it is important to understand why it is that we failed so that we can better tune our strategy.
If our next strategy fails, then it is important to understand why that strategy failed so that we can re-adjust our strategy again until we reach what we are looking for.
This is the learning process in a nutshell.
The most successful people on the planet have all failed time and time again, and their lack of giving up on whatever it is they are working to achieve is how they become successful.
You will also hear many successful people refer to their failures as learning experiences.
It is a simple shift in mindset in thinking that failure is ultimately a learning lesson.
Failure has a negative connotation attached to it, which is part of the reason why we are so scared of failing.
If we can eliminate the negative connotation that comes with failure and view it as a simple learning lesson, it will better reinforce our strategy towards our pursuit of fulfillment in life.
Too many times we get caught in the wrong pursuits without ever achieving the clarity that we need to succeed.
If we take persistent action in learning as much as we can, about ourselves, understanding other people, how the world actually works, we can continue to add tools to our arsenal of pursuing our purpose.
If we can perceive failure as lessons to be learned, we can better prepare ourselves mentally for future challenges over the horizon.
The lesson here is simple and one that I have mentioned many times on this channel, if what you are doing is not working - if you continue to fall short of something you truly want in life, then you must be able to take a step back, quiet your mind, search for the root of the problem, and tune up a new strategy to keep you moving forward.