We're guessing 0.
Why is it that you have no feelings of inferiority over something that you were terrible at for weeks on end until you finally got it right? There are two reasons:
1) Those first stumbling “fear-filled” steps took place before you were too young to remember – you were probably less than a year old, and…
2) You finally got it right. You stayed with it, which turned all those “failures” into eventual success!
Think about how things would be if you had quit, and found yourself where you are today – at your current age – unable to walk. Do you think you might feel just a little silly? Just a bit inferior to everyone else around you?
Please don't brush this off as a cute “positive mental attitude” thing, but let the truth of this “hang in the air” for a moment because the ramifications of this are huge.
We have all had failures in our lives. Not making the team. Being passed over for the big promotion. Having something we created get rejected. Not getting the guy or girl. Starting a business that crumbled.
Every one of these “failures” chips away at how we perceive ourselves, right?
The answer is… yes and no. It’s a ‘yes’ for some people – the ones who anguish over it repeatedly and quit before getting it right.
And it’s a ‘no’ for those who do the opposite – those who don’t relive the failure over and over again and who push forward until they finally achieve success, turning the “negative” experience into one of the most rewarding ‘wins’ of their lives.
You see, it is NOT the failure that ultimately harms you. It is the way you have decided to interpret it. Some people see failure as a stepping stone on the path to success (in our example, walking) while others see it as a roadblock. Some people find amazing joy in sticking with it and finally getting it right, while others sit on the carpet of life and watch with tears in their eyes as others hurry
past.
So what will you choose? In the end, it all comes down to what you choose to remember, how you choose to interpret it, and what you're going to do about it.
