Success vs. Failure

A sermon recently expounded the value of failure not as failure itself, but as a means of growing one's sense of self worth and moving towards new experiences.

Failure does not mean that one has failed in life'snwork, but is just a measure of how much more one has tondo in life. If one task is not successfully completed,nit does not mean that one is a failure.

There are many reasons why a task fails.

The analogy given was with Moses who successfully lednthe Israelites out of Egypt through the desert andnestablished the ten commandments as a rule of life.
However, Moses, at the moment of success and fulfillment of thenwork he was assigned by God, was deniednentry into the Promised Land. Was his life a failure?
Perhaps. It depends on which side of the fence younreside.

Had Moses led them into the Promised Land, his job wouldnhave been over, he would have succeeded, but then whatnwould he have done?

So, too, is the concept of failure misleading in today'snfrenetic world, full of businesses closing and goingnbust. It was never the intention of the owners of thosencompanies to go bust. They put every fiber of thei
being into making them successful. But circumstancesnsometimes deny the fruition of the best laid plans, andnfailure occurs.

It is not a reflection on the failure itself, because itnis a time to re-group, re-focus, and re-align oneselfnwith a new vision, a new purpose and a belief that a newnpath will appear so one may grow and mature.

It is neither a reflection of success itself , becausenonce you have achieved what you set out to do, whatnfurther vision do you have? You cannot rest if you havenachieved everything. There should always be somethingnmore that one can focus on.

The point of the sermon is that if one does not fail one will not grow and have a sense of value in life.

Growth is not measured in stature and material things.

It is measured in life's lessons.
It is measured in humility.
It is measured in one's ability to grow.
It is measured in visions and the ability to act uponnthem and bring them to fruition, even if you yourselfnultimately fail in the end.

Failure is a hard lesson to learn. It brings onndepression, a feeling of low self worth. The success innlife is overcoming these hard knocks, rising above them,nbringing new and fresh ideas to the table.

But one thing I know... acknowledging failure and walking away from it is a most liberating feeling. It lifts the angst and anxiety and helps you deal withnmoving forward to the next chapter in your life.

Ah, the hard lessons of life.