Success versus Failure

A sermon recently expounded the value of failure not as failure itself, but as a means of growing one's sense of self worth and moving towards new experiences.

Failure does not mean that one has failed in life's
work, but is just a measure of how much more one has to
do in life. If one task is not successfully completed,
it does not mean that one is a failure.

There are many reasons why a task fails.

The analogy given was with Moses who successfully led
the Israelites out of Egypt through the desert and
established the ten commandments as a rule of life.
However, Moses, at the moment of success and fulfillment of the
work he was assigned by God, was denied
entry into the Promised Land. Was his life a failure?
Perhaps. It depends on which side of the fence you
reside.

Had Moses led them into the Promised Land, his job would
have been over, he would have succeeded, but then what
would he have done?

So, too, is the concept of failure misleading in today's
frenetic world, full of businesses closing and going
bust. It was never the intention of the owners of those
companies to go bust. They put every fiber of their
being into making them successful. But circumstances
sometimes deny the fruition of the best laid plans, and
failure occurs.

It is not a reflection on the failure itself, because it
is a time to re-group, re-focus, and re-align oneself
with a new vision, a new purpose and a belief that a new
path will appear so one may grow and mature.

It is neither a reflection of success itself , because
once you have achieved what you set out to do, what
further vision do you have? You cannot rest if you have
achieved everything. There should always be something
more that one can focus on.

The point of the sermon is that if one does not fail,
one will not grow and have a sense of value in life.

Growth is not measured in stature and material things.

It is measured in life's lessons.
It is measured in humility.
It is measured in one's ability to grow.
It is measured in visions and the ability to act upon
them and bring them to fruition, even if you yourself
ultimately fail in the end.

Failure is a hard lesson to learn. It brings on
depression, a feeling of low self worth. The success in
life is overcoming these hard knocks, rising above them,
bringing new and fresh ideas to the table.

But one thing I know... acknowledging failure and
walking away from it is a most liberating feeling.

It lifts the angst and anxiety and helps you deal with
moving forward to the next chapter in your life.

Ah, the hard lessons of life.