"Success is never final and failure never fatal, it is the Courage that counts"

The title is a quote by John Wooden. 

These words were written on one of the walls of my school. There were many such quotes written in my school but I will always remember This one. But why you may ask? 

Because as a kid I was not able to understand the meaning it held. I used to think that success and for that matter failure as well was final, how can it be not? Because what's done is done (and what's won is won). In my mind I would think of examples where success as well as failure was final. I would recount the classes I passed, the cricket and football matches I won and lost etc. to validate my opinion. So I would read and reject the statement everytime I crossed that wall.

But as I grew up and noticed how life works (or I should say how we humans work) I realized that life is a kind of never ending journey and we tend to move from one thing to another, one place to another, and from one goal to another. It does not matter if we successfully achieved it or failed at it miserably. WE ALWAYS TEND TO MOVE ON. Failing at something is not as bad as it is to miss the opportunity.

I realized that the nature of life/humans is one of Evolution. We keep evolving with time and this happens naturally and effortlessly. A failed project gives us pain for a moment, as a successful one gives us joy, but it's just for a moment and then it becomes history. And we tend to start with a new journey towards something else. We can keep doing it until we are there. We keep evolving with every setback and with every triumph. That is our nature.

I have failed at some big things in life and I have succeeded at others. I am sure you have too. But it is the courage to continue or starting afresh without worrying about the results, that matters. We will only evolve from it.

So what do I want to convey? 

Your past has no power over you, whether you failed or succeeded is history. So just think about your next big project or just reorient your approach to achieve your desired outcome. Have the courage and do it. 

Little Assignment: Take a moment to think about 3 situations in your life where you think you won and 3 situations where you lost. And analyze how those experiences helped you grow.