Can you believe that there is surprising value in a failure? Perhaps you have heard that failures are sometimes stepping stones to success.
If you’ve ever heard someone say, “just try to be positive,” when you’re going through a rough time, you can probably already feel your eyes rolling.
Maintaining a positive and happy attitude through failure is often easier said than done!
However, learning how to see the sunny side of failure is possible.
Being positive won’t make all the big, challenging emotions of experiencing failure go away for good.
However, it can help you process those emotions more effectively and efficiently.
What Does It Mean To See The “Sunny Side” Of A Failure?
Trying to see the “sunny side” of something is a metaphor for finding the little spot of goodness within something negative or bad.
For example, going through a failure can be rough. You can feel bad about yourself and experience self-doubt.
Or you could feel embarrassment over what happened. It adds a dark cloud over your life, at least for a little while.
When you try to find the sunny side of a failure, it means you’re searching for the one little bit of light that shines through those negative emotions and thoughts.
You’ll have to look at your failure from a different perspective to find that little bit of light.
For example, you could try some of the following tips:
1. Focus On The Lessons Learned From Failure
Every failure is a chance to learn something new about yourself, others, or the world around you.
Even though your efforts failed, you leave the situation with the knowledge you can use to avoid repeating the failure.
This kind of knowledge serves as a bit of light within a failure.
You are given the power to use your knowledge and protect yourself from similar mistakes again.
2. Focus On What You Still Have In Life Or What Is Going Right For You, Despite The Failure
After a failure, it’s easy to allow your thinking to be consumed with what happened.
A good way to pull yourself out of that darkness is to find some light in what is still going well in your life.
For example, even though you failed at something, you may still have your family, friends, career, and home to love and enjoy despite the failure you experienced.
Focusing on these brighter spots can make it much easier to find the sunny side of your failure.
3. Focus On Reasons Why The Failure May Have Been Good For You
Yes, it is possible for a failure to be good for you!
This may seem strange to think about failing, but take some time to consider why getting what you wanted could have worked out negatively.
In the heat of the moment, a failure can feel like the end of the world.
However, succeeding at some things doesn’t guarantee that the future would have continued working out in your favor.
Sometimes, failing at something signals the end of an event that could have led you down a different, perhaps even unsuccessful, pathway.
4. Focus On Your Own Humanity
Human beings are going to make mistakes and fail.
Nobody is perfect…even if they may seem that way!
Because you are a human being, you will also experience your share of failing and mistake-making.
When you experience failure, remind yourself of your own humanity.
Failing at something is a normal part of life for all human beings. When you fail, you are simply being human.
Focusing on this reality can make seeing the sunnier side of failure easier and help you process your feelings more quickly.
