What do you do if your confidence in your abilities is shattered after a failure?

After my 12th grade, I began looking for a job. Every day, I would visit multiple companies to attend interviews. I was rejected in over 30 interviews before I got a job offer. All I wanted was a job. My desire to get a job was so strong every fall felt like another step closer to the win. They taught me to be better prepared. In times of failure, I learned to stay patient and reflect on how I feel, pick the learnings, assure myself of my abilities, and put in better efforts. Onwards and upwards.

You may experience a range of emotions, including sadness, disappointment, frustration, or even anger, and it's important to acknowledge and validate these feelings. Allow yourself to feel them without judgment or self-criticism. By accepting and processing your emotions, you can begin to heal and gain clarity on how to learn and grow from the experience.

If a toddler would give up after falling down several times when learning to walk, we’d all be crawling around. Failure has been stigmatized as something bad and to avoid at all costs, but without failure there is no success either. Staying where we are, never taking any risks, never trying something new has been a doctrine that has way too much weight over the years. A species like ours wouldn’t have conquered a whole planet and is about to conquer space without the ability to embrace failure.

Instead of viewing it as a negative endpoint, consider it a detour on the road to success. Each setback offers valuable lessons and opportunities for growth. By reframing failure as a temporary setback or a stepping stone to eventual success, you can maintain a positive outlook and persevere in the face of challenges. This mindset shift fosters resilience and enables you to bounce back stronger than before.

The experiences that I have considered failures in the past turned out to be my best resource. When I go back in time and analyze those moments, I find gems that have allowed me to thrive, and prosper in new ventures. I don't believe failure is something to fear. Embracing the unknown and forging ahead is living life.

Emotional intelligence encompasses the ability to recognize when you need support and to maintain nurturing relationships that provide it. By leaning on your support network, you gain valuable insights, encouragement, and reassurance that help you navigate setbacks and grow stronger in the process.

Failure is only permanent if you let it be. It takes bravery to try again after a failure. Just being willing to try again is awesome. Find something small you can do. Dip your toe in the water. Don't give up. Think about professional sports stars. They miss or fail more than they succeed in most games. But they keep at it, and that is where greatness comes from.

Acknowledge and celebrate each minor achievement on your journey. Recognising your successes, regardless of size, aids in rebuilding confidence in your abilities. This positive reinforcement fosters a mindset that values growth and effort, restoring self-belief after setbacks.

Use what went wrong as a starting point; explore corrective measures or actions, as well as future alternatives, to gain a greater understanding and strenght to intelligently approach the same or any situation in the future. Don't beat yourself up, and don't give into failure; focus on the emotional strenght and confidence gained from your successes.