5 Ways to celebrate failure
We all know that we learn WAY more from our losses than our wins, but sometimes it can be hard to feel that way, especially in the moment. We often celebrate our wins by popping a bottle, throwing a party, or just straight-up saying “hey, congrats!” but have you ever noticed that we almost NEVER celebrate our losses?! If failure is so great (which trust us, it is!) then why aren’t giving it the celebratory status it deserves?
Here are 5 ways you can legit celebrate failure for yourself - or someone who deserves it like a child, student, or best friend - in a way that feels JUST as exciting as cracking the champagne at the first sign of success.
1. Throw a party
Okay, we’re coming in hot with this first one but remember that episode of Sex and the city? The one where Carrie decides to get married to herself and throw a giant party and register at her fave shoe store because she’s like okay, if people get to throw parties in their honour and receive lavish gifts just because they’re getting married…why can’t single people do it to?! Well, that’s the vibe we’re going for here. We throw parties to celebrate getting a new job, getting engaged, receiving awards, and all the “successful” stuff…why not throw a party, or go out for a nice meal, to celebrate the giant lesson you’re likely to learn after facing a big fat failure?! The bigger the failure, the bigger the party - that’s our motto and we stand by it!
2. Send flowers (a nice note will do too!)
Got a friend who’s having a yucky time due to making a giant boo-boo, facing a breakup or not getting that job they really wanted? Instead of sending your condolences, send a congratulatory bouquet or a nice card. Let them know that when one door closes, another always opens and that you are PUMPED to walk through that open door with them!
3. Make a failure certificate
Have we mentioned that we LOVE failure certificates? Making failure certificates for our students is one of our fave ways to celebrate mistake-making. How does it work?! Design your own failure certificate in Canva or another free platform - or literally just grab a framed certificate from your local dollar store. We’re going for a diploma vibe, because hey, graduating from failure is a real thing! Now, pick a failure, any failure! Write it on your certificate along with the lesson you learned. Frame it and stick it on your wall so that you can feel forever proud of the lessons you’ve learned from your mega-failure, that you would never had learned if you had been successful!
4. Make a list of lessons learned
This is one of our fave ways to celebrate failure, and it’s super simple. It’s also a great activity to do with someone else! When you’ve made an embarrassing mistake and it feels like the end of the world, it’s hard to feel like you’re gaining ANYTHING from it. This is where a list can be super helpful! Make a list of absolutely everything you’re mistake has taught you, no matter how big or small. Maybe you lost your car keys and had to call a tow truck to take you home, and you’ve learned that a) you need a better place to put your keys and that b) tow truck drivers are actually super nice and c) that you should probably leave a spare set of keys with your bff so that if this happens again, you have a backup plan. See?! That is a LOT to learn from one little mistake - and you NEVER would have learned that if you hadn’t misplaced your keys in the first place!
5. Collect failure charms
It’s easy to just forget your mistakes and sweep them under the rug, but personally, we prefer to face them every day as a reminder of how far we’ve come and what lessons we’ve learned (and don’t want to forget)! Our solution? Failure charms! We know it sounds whack but charm bracelets that serve as celebratory reminders are our go-to! Some of our students have actual charm bracelets and let’s say a mega-failure happens like getting an F on a math test. Well, they might find a cute little “F” charm to add to their bracelet as a reminder that they’ve managed to grow and move on and it wasn’t the end of the world - oh - and as a reminder to actually study next time:) Another way to do this is to make string or beaded bracelets and assign them each their own significance. Maybe your blue braided one celebrates the time you went through a tough break-up and made it out stronger than ever, and the pink beaded one celebrates the job you didn’t get and reminds you that when one door closes…! Failure charms are useful because the next time something doesn’t go as planned, all you have to do is glance down at your wrist and remind yourself of ALL the other things that didn’t go as planned, and tap into the magic of the lessons they taught you!