Moving from failure to success (4)

To move from failure to success, you must do these: (1) Learn to laugh at yourself. No matter what you lose or how often you lose, never lose your sense of humour. When you take your mistakes too seriously, everything becomes a life-or-death issue. The psalmist wrote, “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, ‘What amazing things the Lord has done for them.’ Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy! Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy” (vv. 1-5 NLT). You may not be able to laugh about your mistakes, but you can learn to laugh in them! Note the phrase “when the Lord brought back.” God can bring you back! Tim Masters said, “Failure is the productive part of success. It provides the road you don’t have to travel again, the mountain you don’t have to climb again, and the valley you don’t have to cross again.” When we’re making mistakes, they may not feel like “the kiss of Jesus,” which was Mother Teresa’s phrase for failures that drive us to God. But if we maintain the right attitude, they can lead us to do what we should be doing. (2) Learn from your mistakes. Successful restaurateur Wolfgang Puck said, “I have learned more from the one restaurant that didn’t work than from all the ones that were successes.” Isn’t that usually the way it is? You don’t lose – you learn!