At some point in our lives, we have all experienced one form of failure or the other. You study extra hard for an exam, and when the results are out, you get a lower grade than expected. In other cases, you might have lost a job opportunity even after you aced the interview, gotten laid off from work, or decided to set up your blog as a professional copywriter and gotten zero interaction with a post you put in so much time.

We all have our stories when we felt low and undermined because of the rejection and failure we faced. You are not alone; we have all gone down that road. And the great news is that it is never the end, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Although there are no ultimate formulas on how to navigate life after you have suffered a failure, it is essential to learn some lessons that can help inspire change and deal with failure properly. In this article, I would like us to look at some of the lessons I have picked from my failed experiences that can inspire you to pick yourself back up, grow, and succeed.

Failure Isn’t the End of the Road

When you put in your all, and then you fail big, it may feel like you’re at your wits’ end. Even the thought of trying again doesn’t sound so appealing. It takes an emotional toll on you and could break your spirits physically and mentally. But from my experiences, I have come to realize that failing at something doesn’t mean it is the end of the road.

Rather than let failure weigh you down, you can learn how to build yourself up. I remember one time I had worked so hard on a campaign slogan for a bottled water company. After my pitch to the company’s management, I left feeling very optimistic because they all said they loved my ideas and how it resonated with their brand.

However, roughly a week later, I got an email that the job had gone to someone else. Although the feedback hurt more than I would care to describe, I had to pick myself back up and prepare for another copywriting gig I planned to pitch for. Having failed on my previous pitch, I worked extra hard on the next one and still didn’t get it! Two attempts later was when I finally got my first copywriting job.

One thing that kept going through my mind is that if I had taken previous rejection as the end of the road, I’d never have continued trying. I know it’s not easy to pick yourself back up after you have experienced failure. Half the time, you’re probably wondering how to get motivated when you are depressed. Failure only becomes the end of the road if you don’t learn to try again.

Accept Your Weaknesses and Avoid the Blame Game

We all have our weaknesses as humans. A part of overcoming failure is to realize that we can’t always succeed at everything. When you can fully accept this, then you get to understand that because you failed on something does not mean it becomes a reflection of your whole life. Negatively dwelling on your weaknesses makes you stuck on the thought that maybe something is wrong with you. And it isn’t true! We all have our struggles; what you might fail at others might succeed at it, and what you might succeed in others might fail at it.

Furthermore, it is easy to sink into the blame game, especially when we feel we have been robbed of an opportunity. You begin to blame yourself or others for your failure. Failure and fault are almost inseparable in most environments, like schools, households, work, and society. In most cases, an admittance of failure also means taking the blame. The critical thing here is not to dwell on blaming yourself or others. In the same vein, you must likewise admit your faults. Find the balance by pausing, reflecting, picking the lessons you can learn, and moving on more determined from the situation.

Failure Can Help Redefine Your Priorities

In whatever field you find yourself, whether as a newscaster, athlete, or professional copywriter, you must have experienced failure in a significant way when you first started. While some of the professionals you see today might have gone through only a few failures, some have had to go through a lot more.

Here is the lesson I picked from my early days as a copywriter. Most often, I get asked the question, “can anyone be a copywriter?” The answer is yes; however, you need to have a niche. The lesson I picked from my earlier failures is that it helped me redefine my priorities and find my niche market. I would previously write on any and everything that came my way, of course, most of them were an epic fail. At a point, I had to look inwards and begin to realize what matters the most to me, and that was how I found my interest.

If I had never failed at writing on several topics, I probably would never have discovered my niche market as a direct response copywriter. Although I still write from time to time for other areas such as technical and SEO writing, my failures have helped me prioritize what area I can focus and showcase my strengths,

Gather Material for Your Success Stories after a Big Fail

This lesson should be a self-explanatory one, since I’m writing this piece based on my failed copywriting experiences. The beautiful thing about this is that each time you share your success stories after you might have previously failed, your story resonates with so many others and likewise inspires them.

Sometimes after experiencing failure, you might wonder, “Why do I have a lack of motivation”? Or you are suffering from depression. Writing therapy can do you a lot of good. You can start keeping a journal to write down what you are feeling and your different experiences. Writing is a great way to let out your frustrations and pain from failure. It can help you clear your mind and also serve as great material for when you are ready to write about your journey of overcoming failure to succeed. Even when you feel like a failure, remember that broken crayons can still paint a beautiful picture.

Find Inspiration from Others

After you have experienced failure, you feel so alone and unworthy. It is a very lonely feeling; one thing I have learned to do when I feel low after a big fail is to find inspiration from others. Failure to success stories from famous people such as J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and colleagues within the copywriting industry, inspire me to keep going. When I read such stories, they help me push towards my goals, and I feel like I’m in good company. Another place I find inspiration is on writing service websites such as Pick The Writer and Writing Judge.

Most of these people have experienced their shares of failure and have overcome even more significant obstacles. So I’m reminded not to be too hard on myself. When you experience failure, remember that others also have gone through the same or even worse. From their stories, you can seek and find the inspiration that you need. Try to lighten up and fully enjoy the journey and pick as much as you can learn along the way.

Conclusion:

If you have ever experienced failure, you mustn’t consider it as something permanent. There is always a lesson to learn that can inspire you to push forward. And I sincerely hope the experiences I have shared will inspire you.

Please, you can also share with us in the comment session below some of the lessons and experiences you have had after a big fail because we all need a little inspiration!

Anna Medina likes writing from her university years. When she graduated from the Interpreters Department, she realized that translation was not so interesting, as writing was. She trains her skills now working as a freelance writer on different topics. She always does her best in the posts and articles.

Image courtesy of Gaelle Marcel.