We live in a success oriented culture where we imagine self-worth is linked to success. Most of us allow our strivings for success, conscious or otherwise, to lend both shape and purpose to our lives, whether we are deliberately setting our sights on it or simply attempting to avoid failure.

But being open to failure may be an advantage in life and, paradoxically, an important factor in achieving success. We accept that in many things we do we must experience failure as part of the learning process, but failure doesn’t disappear just because we become proficient at something.

Assuming that it does is a mistake, and struggling to avoid failure not only a waste of energy but also acts as brake on our efforts to succeed.