How do we turn failure’s disappointment into hope? I remember reading somewhere, “If you haven’t failed, you haven’t tried hard enough.”
This quote should encourage you if you are about to give up. If you aren’t willing to fail, you will never be successful.
Our failures are the stepping stones to achievement.
Failure isn’t popular. It is a declaration of our weakness and lack of ability to progress.
Failure, simply put, is saying I didn’t make the mark. I am not good enough.
Usually, when we fail, we want to hide or, at the least, pretend it didn’t happen. If you don’t know I failed, then I can wear my shame in secrecy.
We aren’t smiling in commercials or taking wonderful vacations on the beach.
Society paints a rosy picture of success stories. Idolization and affirmation await those who win. No one wants to see the dejected, grieving soul.
Often, we are sitting at home with the lights off and the curtains pulled, wondering if it is even possible to get ahead.
At least, this is how I have spent many days trying to figure out what I did wrong.
Of course, I’m here because I’m not intelligent, and if I’m not a winner, then I have to be a loser, right?
No!
I am created in the image of God.
My breath is a gift of God.
My mind has the ability to create, imagine, and discover.
I am capable of good and evil.
My choices determine my destiny, not the impressions society imposes on me.
Don’t Let Society Define You.
I’ve seen a paradigm shift in 60-plus years of life. Good was emulated. Values were desired. Absolutes were foundational.
I have to recognize what is happening in society. What was once valuable has become tarnished by the decay of human decency.
I’m not saying human decency has disappeared.
It still dwells in the hearts of those who won’t let honesty, mercy, kindness, virtue, and brotherly love die.
Individuals who refuse to bend to a world where blood, gore, violence, immorality, and villainy are seen as entertainment are called bigots and haters.
This is why I refuse to let society label me and smother my dreams.
I’m not going to use any means to justify the end or let the system of a world gone amok determine my value.
When I was young and foolish, I didn’t care about the person I stole from, lied to, or took advantage of.
I didn’t feel their pain. The blinders I wore prevented empathy.
I only cared about one thing. Me. Me against them. Me against everyone else.
Reach For Greatness!
Yet, deep inside, I wanted goodness, love, joy, happiness, and God. I wanted God.
It seems no one wants God, namely, Jesus Christ, anymore. He cramps their style. Who needs rules?
I’ve been there and done that, but the very thing I fought against was my salvation.
When my wrong choices chained me to the misery of failure and left me with nothing to hope in, I remembered Jesus.
I want his rules, his absolutes, a solid foundation, and the truth, not a self-willed existence that leaves me accountable to no one.
I am not a failure because I need Jesus.
I crave him like an addiction. I cherish him and inhale his essence.
I’ve based my life and actions on God’s principles, and if success as this world describes it eludes me, then it isn’t worth having.
Will I stop pursuing success? No, but I will strive for it lawfully.
I don’t belong to a rat race or dog-eat-dog world. I will attain success with a different set of parameters.
“For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36.
“And if a man also strive for masteries, Yet is he not crowned, except he strives lawfully.” 2 Timothy 2:5
Parameters of Success
- I will be honest with myself and others.
- I will not defraud or lie to gain an advantage in life.
- I will accept my station so long as it has been attained without harm to others.
- I will not judge anyone based on race, religion, or personal choice. They don’t belong to me and are not accountable to me. There is only one judge, and I am not him.
- I will live according to the Bible. Some will judge me or call me self-righteous. They may even despise the God who sustains me, but I will not condemn them for their views.
- God has given every man a free will. Each of us will answer for our own deeds. I will not seek to hide behind excuses but endeavor to learn from unfavorable events.
- I will not blame others for my mistakes and wrong choices.
- Each day, I will forgive quickly and choose not to be offended by the actions of others.
- If the opportunity presents itself, I will help my fellow man.
- I will remember what it was like to be homeless, hungry, abused, depressed, and afraid without hope that I might have empathy for others who are in their struggle.
- I will choose my words carefully.
I have not failed if Christ is formed in me.
Thank you for reading to the end of this blog post. I hope you will take heart the next time you experience less than perfect success.