learning from our failures

In his search for the right filament for the light bulb, Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials. When none of them worked effectively, his assistant got frustrated and complained, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.”

Edison, as calm and confident as ever, replied, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

When we encounter failures in our work or in our life, it’s easy to think that we haven’t made any progress. But instead of focusing on our failures, we need to pay attention to the lessons that we learned on our way. 

As the popular adage goes, “Failure is a stepping stone to success.” Detach from your mistakes and failures, and note down all the important lessons that came out of your attempts. With time and repetition, as you keep taking action relentlessly, success will come knocking at your door soon, as it did for Thomas Edison.

You need to keep going — for yourself, for your vision and for the contribution that you’ll be making to this world when you finally achieve the success that you desire.