We have all messed up at some point in our lives and it is easy to let those failures, disappointments, and mistakes haunt us.

They remind us and often loom over us like an infinite shadow.

• Maybe it was something we did or failed to do.
• Maybe it was a choice we made that we no longer believe was the right choice.
• Maybe it was an activity that ate up a huge portion of our lives that we regret and we feel we can never get that wasted time back.

But you can transform your failure into success.

We hear it all the time, phrases like: “‘learn from your mistakes,’ ‘focus on your strengths,’ and ‘do not dwell on your past.'”

But how do you do that?

Let’s try right now in three simple steps.

Step One

Take out a sheet of paper and make a list of ten times in the past you believe you failed or disappointed someone or yourself. This can be anything major or minor (this is great practice).

Step Two

Next to the first list, write down something you learned from them or how those events make you a better, stronger person.

Step Three

Write down how you can apply the lesson you just learned to some practical way of improving your current situation right now (or some project in the future).

Get into the habit of doing this and you can transform everything into your own personal lesson for success. And what’s more, you can use these lessons to help others.

Author: Em Fe

Emmett Ferguson is a Jack Welch Management Institute MBA. With a passion for people, he created this website to help others find advice to dream big, ignite passion, earn wealth, and achieve success. View all posts by Em Fe