Special Feature <The Psychology of Failure > 2
Is Failure Really That Bad?

Professor Keun-Hyang Kim (Department of Psychology, Daegu University)

“Do you think success is that easy?”, “Is failure really that bad?” These are lines that parody off a rambling conversation between the main characters of the film <Decision to Leave>. My answer to both questions is “no” – success is definitely not easy, nor is failure that bad. However, it seems like there are plenty of people throughout the world who have achieved the difficult goal of success. Well, that is what it seems like on social media platforms like Instagram. On the other hand, even though failure is not as bad as we think, it still is not something people brag about, nor does it make us feel better. Because of these reasons, people who fail tend to avoid the spotlight and attention from others.
The saying “people learn from their failures” has become so stale that people do not even bother to search for the lessons presented to them. Of course, not all life episodes have a clear-cut lesson on the surface, but they all can provide us with valuable insights if we look deeper; it is up to each individual to find and recognize them. You only live once, so rather than leaving our failures as painful and bitter memories, it would be better if we could slightly change our perspective (if it is difficult to transform a failure into something brighter, then at least try to change your mindset toward it – Koreans refer to this as a ‘mental victory’) to find silver linings in bad situations, which will help us recover psychologically and become more positive in life. With this in mind, I will give you list I made of some reasons why failure is not really that bad. Take note that my list does not consider the subject of the failure or the type of failure (e.g., breakups, loss of job, etc.).