Failure.

This is something that happens to all of us. We fail a test or we fail a course or we fail to get the job we want or we fail at a relationship. It is a fact of life.

The question is what do we do next? I believe that part of what defines us is how we respond to failure. I see three options.

1. Quit and go home.
2. Charge right ahead as though nothing happened.
3. Try and figure out why we failed and have that lesson improve who we are as we go forward.

If you followed the rule for taking a multiple choice test (the longest answer is the right one), you would of course be right.

This sounds so easy. It is not. Dealing with the emotional let down of failing something is hard. It is demoralizing. It is embarassing. But it is a necessary part of life. If we don't put ourselves in positions where we might occassionally fail, we are not challenging ourselves enough.

TBL: Failure sucks. But get back up, dust yourself off, and move on. Life will be ok.