One of the best ways for us to improve our performance at something is to look back and think about what we could have done better. And as we look forward and face a life full of choices, we might want to look back at our failures and consider how we can bounce back. Here are some tips to do just that.
Acknowledge that growth can be messy
We are all here to learn and grow but if we expect everything to go smoothly, we will be disappointed. Learning in this life requires us to endure a lot of rough roads, flat tires, and traffic jolts, just like we only learn how to ride a bike after several crashes or injuries.
When we acknowledge that growth does not come without challenges or opposition, we become more open to learning, more accepting of failures, more agile in finding areas where we can do better, and more receptive to the Spirit and God’s guiding hand.
Failure does not mean we lack faith
Some of us might think that we fail because our faith is not firm enough. That is what the adversary would have us believe. In the Book of Mormon, we read about the prophet Nephi and his brothers failing twice to get the plates of brass from Laban. Nephi’s faith was incredibly strong, but that did not keep him and his brothers from failing.
We learn from Nephi’s story that failure does not equate to a lack of faith. Sometimes, God lets us fail to help us increase our faith and grow closer to Him.
Move forward but bring the learning with us
We often hear people say that we must forget the past and move forward. While forgetting our past failures and the regrets and guilt that come with it is a good idea, we must not leave everything behind. If we really want to bounce back from failure, let’s not forget to bring what we have learned with us. For our knowledge is only significant in terms of what it has helped us become.
God’s love for us will never diminish
As we navigate the failures of life, we can be assured that no matter how many times we fail, God loves us just as much as He always has. His love for us will never diminish and His hand is always stretched out to help us get up every time we fall. We should recognize that if we want to bounce back from failure, His grace and love will always be sufficient to help us.
We all fail. Sometimes, we fail several times a day. And that’s okay. What’s not okay is losing our purpose or bringing our progress to a halt because of our failures. Our failures should be stepping stones for us to become better versions of ourselves and become the person God wants us to become. Bouncing back our from failures is not easy but the Atonement of Jesus Christ will help us feel whole again if we let Him heal us.
So let’s continue to march on with full purpose of heart and confidence that all these failures are just a prelude to what awaits us in the kingdom of God when we endure faithfully.
