“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it’s the courage to continue that counts.”                Winston Churchill

How powerful these words are – and how empowering! Finding the courage to keep going when we seem to have failed makes all the difference in whether we ultimately succeed or not. Here’s some helpful advice on bouncing back:

How to Respond to Failure

“F:  Forget about your failures. Do not dwell on past mistakes.

A:  Anticipate failure. Realize that we all make mistakes.

I:  Intensity should be felt in all you do. Never be a failure for lack of effort.

L:  Learn from your mistakes. Do not repeat previous errors.

U:  Understand why you failed. Diagnose your mistakes so as not to repeat them.

R:  Respond, do not react to errors. Responding corrects mistakes. Reacting magnifies them.

E:  Elevate your self-concept. It’s okay to fail. Everyone does. Now, how are you going to deal with failure?”

— Steve Largent, U.S. Congressman

What a helpful approach to failure! In a nutshell, we have a bounce-back strategy:

Never let yourself fail due to lack of effort – don’t hold back.

When failure hits you, don’t fly off the handle; take some time to respond.

When failure comes your way, don’t fight it, but don’t dwell on it.

Learn from what’s happened – use it, mine it for gold.

Figure out a go-forward plan and set it in motion.

OK, now we have a fail-safe plan: let’s view failure as feedback, stay calm, and write on!