Many years ago, one of the early founders to launch the "Air conditioning Industry" Mr Willis Carrier had a huge problem on his hands, as the equipment which he had just pioneered costing millions of dollars had not quite performed as anticipated, and already, some large volume of these had been commissioned.
This unexpected result was to cost the organisation a huge loss, and for him, a big blow to his reputation which till then was respectable in his ranking within the Senior Management.
Mr Carrier reckoned that this particular "Major Disaster and Blow to himself and to the Company" would see him being sent off a broken and disgraced man. He had sleepless nights, tossed and toiled in his confusion about this loss. Several times he asked himself how he was to own up, how he was to tell his family, how he could envisage going with such a mess left behind him. These worrying sensations continued, until all of a sudden, he decided to switch on his Thinking Cap.
Now, he thought to himself, what's the worse that can really happen? Ok, he'll lose his job in disgrace, and then he said, what's the next thing that could happen? He thought he would then have to pick himself up and go searching for a new job, perhaps slightly different from what he was doing then, but with the knowledge and experience behind him most employers he figured would want him.
After analysing all this, he picked himself up, wrote down all he had learned from his setback, and decided boldly to face his bosses with the hard truth, and other vital information he felt that would need to be applied to this problem in order to set things straight from the case of Losing Millions of dollars to that of Breaking Even and then Building up to Long Term Success.
Ok, what do you think happened when he bravely met up with his bosses?
He went through in detail explaining the facts and information that he had already researched. He presented them with alternatives and the reason for the massive setback plus how to correct it.
In this particular case, his bosses were convinced and accepted his proposals, agreeing to put them to the test. They had several more tests and eventually it was a success. Mr Carrier kept his job, kept his dignity and went on to create ongoing success for the organisation.
The blows of the initial trials had vanished because he reframed his initial setback, picking the learning's and moving on to review his options for success. If he had done the opposite, we'd be looking at an entirely different story now.
So, let's look at the term "Failure" in the light of the above example, because some people would view failure as something that didn't quite go according to their original or revised plan, hence they see it as a Failure.
In any case, whatever your circumstances or definition of failure, looking at it from an entirely different angle, the term "failure" could be reframed or put into a different context, which then transforms it to an entirely different meaning in such a way that you can see some benefits from the experiences gained. Sometimes benefits may not be immediately obvious as this may take a while to understand or appreciate.
This interpretation of reframing "failure" in the context of your new experience or learning's from an event, transforms the setback to an empowering resource, giving you options for change and improvement from the current position.
The reality here is that in any situation, when you're in a position to move on from the past setbacks, rather than having the mindset of "Failure", switch it to that of "Feedback" for growth. So you use the setback you've experienced as vital feedback for your ongoing growth and improvement in different areas of your life.
In the earlier example with Mr Carrier and the Installation that didn't quite go as planned, the vital results from the initial tests and setbacks were precious for the necessary improvement and Quality Control of the Product and to ensure that the organisation maintained Value to its customers.
Another example also is that of someone I know in the past who could never really settle to any job for longer than six months at a time, and so he went from one job to another, like a vicious circle. An incident in his life meant that he had to be off work for more than seven months, and it was within that time that he began to seek his real passion for work and lifestyle from deep within him.
He asked himself various questions in his quiet time, thought about what he really wanted to do including retracing experiences he had gained from his success ventures and setbacks he had learned from along the way. For him, it was then that he decided to put together his master plan for setting up a Training Organisation in the field that he really loved, and he has settled in this since.
So, in summary, the way we look at setbacks in our lives will also help to shape how we move on with different situations as we face Life's Challenges.
Now, in readiness to take charge and press on with life, review any setback with the anticipation of learning from that experience, at the same time, endeavour to carefully pick the learning's for you in particular, and let go of the negative emotions and feelings associated with the event or experience.
You'll find that once you truly let go, the release of the negative energy will actually set you free on your way to making changes in your desired direction. If you feel you need to engage a Professional Counsellor to do this, then do as your own Inner Mind directs you.
The Empowering Reality however in life is that "There are no Failures" only "Feedback". Always bear this in mind. If we decide to use the knowledge and experience gained in Life's Challenges as stepping stones for improvement, then we begin to realise the absolute release of Unlimited Creative Energy, lying dormant within us, and waiting to be given direction in which way to turn.
