Dollarphotoclub_63401316 (2)It can feel pretty discouraging when something you are trying to accomplish ends up being a failure.

Yet the most important part of failing at something is not the failure itself, but how you respond to it.

Do you view that failure as a Stop Sign, as a reason to give up; or do you view that failure as a Stepping Stone to a better way of accomplishing your goal?

A number of factors can come into a decision about whether to simply give up or continue your efforts.

Generally speaking, the more important the goal, the more likely you are to persevere.

However, there is one aspect of our current culture that works against us and can discourage us from sticking to our guns.

We live in a culture that one of my friends calls Instant America. We have grown used to fast food, fast downloads, fast responses to our text messaging, fast this and fast that.

Patience is not only no longer our strong suit, it is not even generally admired. Yet patience is a key requirement for persisting in the face of failure.

I will be discussing more of the factors that go into our response to failure in future posts.

In the meanwhile, I invite you share some of your experiences and thoughts about dealing with failure in the comment section below.