Don't be afraid of Failure

Your CV didn't get short listed; you didn’t get the job you hoped for; you didn’t get the raise you deserved. Don't be afraid of failure because

"Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times." -- Napoleon Hill

Failure can help you grow stronger and motivate you more to achieve your dreams. 

Successful people know that things won't always go as planned. They also understand that self-doubt, indecision, being over cautious, and procrastination, etc are symptoms of fear that can stall their progress.  It is through doing, trying, and experiencing things you never did before that you grow and develop.

Failure can make you think differently or take a different path to get to where you want to be. 

Ask the right questions -- what did I do wrong? how can I do it differently?, what changes should I make?, what can I do to improve?, what are my strengths and what are my weaknesses?, where can I get help?, etc.

Failure can teach you valuable lessons of "what not to do" or how to identify potential pitfalls.  

Sometimes you tend to learn and experience more from your and others' failures than successes. For example, I learned about the importance of writing effective resumes and presenting myself more effectively at the job interviews after being unemployed for more than 16 months since completing my master’s degree. I thought I was easily employable due to my post-graduate qualifications. I failed to understand what the prospective employers were looking for. I also more vividly remember my interview failures than successes. I also learned a lot about software development and the importance of good understanding of the key areas like security, performance considerations, scalability, memory considerations, transaction management, etc from others' and my failures in getting them right or at least being aware of how to detect or identify serious issues that can arise from not understanding these key areas.


Always give what others need before you take what you need.

If you have not failed means you have not pushed yourself to the next level. Motivate yourself to continuously improve your competencies. I am a strong believer of the following quote from

David Maiser.

“The people who win are not necessarily the smartest people, but they are the people who are able to sustain drive, commitment, passion and engagement”