Failure is never final unless I quit.  Failure isn’t a terminal event; it’s only a false step on the path to my dreams.  It may make me stumble, but it will not make me stop.  Failure is a test, and if I keep moving in the direction of my dreams, I pass the test.

True failure happens when I believe that I can think the same old thoughts, take the same old actions, and still get a new life.  When I fail, I must stop two things:  I must stop what I am thinking and stop what I am doing.  If I continue to think the same old thoughts and take the same old actions, failure will become a permanent part of my life.

I know how to fail intelligently.  When I fail, I learn something from it, and I don’t repeat my mistake.  I maintain my purpose and reformulate my plan taking into account what I have learned.  Each failure eliminates an unsuccessful strategy that could have prevented me from reaching my dreams.  As I walk on the path to my dreams, I carry a backpack full of new thoughts and actions.  Each time I fail, I pull a new thought and new action out of my backpack.  It doesn’t matter if I fall down.  As long as I get back up, think new thoughts, and take new actions, I will reach my dreams.

Excerpt from :

Maximum Strength Positive Thinking : What to Say When You Talk to Your Mind

David J Abbott M.D.