WHAT is the difference between temporary defeat and failure?
You become a failure when you believe that you are one—failure thus is a mental state, not a reality. Unless a situation is accepted as a failure, it is not a failure and it could only be a temporary defeat or an adversity, which you can overcome and ride on to victory.
Nothing is a failure unless you accept it as such. Temporary defeats are there to serve as lessons to prepare you better for the next steps or struggles that you are going to face throughout the future days of your life.
One of the first lessons in life is to learn how to get victory out of defeat.
It takes courage and stamina when suffering and embarrassed by a humiliating disaster; to seek from the ruins or wreck the elements of your future conquest. You cannot measure a man by his failures, instead you must know what he makes use of them.
The second lesson is that adversity draws the best out of us, disciplines us for success and forces us to concentrate or focus on our priorities.
Failures may intimidate the weak or inspire the fainthearted to lose their confidence. But then without these temporary defeats, you would not be able to chart new ways, invent new steps and processes. Adversities force you to discover your hidden talents and energies.
So don’t quit when life suddenly becomes difficult. Don’t stop when the doors you expected to open remain closed.
The best battles in life are fought uphill and, when the going becomes rough, that is also the moment that you acquire the strength and fortitude. Adversities will shape you, hammer your character and build your spirit.
They are your best companions.
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Frances Kate Lagatec is a Medical Records Reviewer Specialist for e-Data Services Philippines Inc. The views expressed by Lagatic in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror’s.
