We should pause and examine why we fail.
If we don’t, we risk repeating the same mistakes. Worse, we begin telling ourselves the wrong stories — blaming ourselves for things we couldn’t control, or blaming luck for things we simply didn’t try hard enough to do.
I’ve had times when I worked intensely on something and still didn’t succeed. My reflex was to think I hadn’t done enough. So I pushed harder, only to realise later that the outcome was never really up to me at all.
And there have been moments when I put in too little effort, yet convinced myself I was a victim of bad luck. It felt easier to believe the world was unfair than to admit I hadn’t done my part.
This is why examining our failures matters. It helps us separate what was within our control from what wasn’t. Without that clarity, we waste time, energy, and hope on the wrong things.
Understanding the true cause of a failure doesn’t just prevent future mistakes — it protects us from misjudging ourselves. It lets us direct our effort where it can actually make a difference.