My first attempt at sculpting met with several setbacks. Each taught me something. Life is the same process. 

Dozens of my clients are divorced. They often describe abusive hellish experiences. They were miserable, insecure, and depressed. Many consider that portion of their life a failure. It was not! 

I ask them, “Knowing what you know now, how horrible and difficult it would be, would you do it again if necessary, to get your children?”

Every person I’ve asked responded immediately in the affirmative. They would all walk through hell for that blessing.

Many experiences are difficult and painful. That doesn’t make them a failure. Many endeavors don’t turn out as we’d hoped. That doesn’t make the experience or the person a failure. If you learned something from your experience, it was not a failure; it was a blessing.

Think of your most painful, difficult, and unexpected experiences. Make a list of things you learned or good things that came from those experiences. Then don’t ever think of them as failures or mistakes. They were learning experiences, and that’s what we’re here for.

Each time you learn, you succeed. You are a success.