Which is worse for you - success or failure?

[Mock Turtle]

As to the effects upon you. Given that success often doesn't bring the rewards so often imagined - often feelings of 'so what' and 'what's the next challenge' might be a couple of things to interrupt the euphoria that commonly occurs. And failure often isn't dealt with effectively - as to acceptance, analysis of what went wrong, and how to get better, for example.

Personally, I have never been that competitive, certainly not in normal sports, and this can probably be judged by the (outdoor) activities I have chosen during my life, which were more team orientated or done on my own as personal challenges. I've probably had as much success as I've wanted - in the goals I have set - and acceptance probably came easily since I mostly knew I would succeed, given I do seem to have the perseverance and endurance when required. Past tense of course, given those days are over. But there have been occasions when I or we failed in our objectives and usually such passed into history without fuss. Reading can frustrate me sometimes - and I usually blame the author - but that might just be a symptom of getting old. But perhaps is more about believing in Bertrand Russell's views, that writing shouldn't be more complicated than it needs to be.

So which do you find the more difficult to deal with, if either - success or failure?

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Depends on the stakes, I suppose. Easy to acknowledge the helpfulness of failure as a learning experience when all that was risked was your pride. Harder if failure means something serious, physical, emotional or financial.

 

[Nakosis]

As to the effects upon you. Given that success often doesn't bring the rewards so often imagined - often feelings of 'so what' and 'what's the next challenge' might be a couple of things to interrupt the euphoria that commonly occurs. And failure often isn't dealt with effectively - as to acceptance, analysis of what went wrong, and how to get better, for example.

Personally, I have never been that competitive, certainly not in normal sports, and this can probably be judged by the (outdoor) activities I have chosen during my life, which were more team orientated or done on my own as personal challenges. I've probably had as much success as I've wanted - in the goals I have set - and acceptance probably came easily since I mostly knew I would succeed, given I do seem to have the perseverance and endurance when required. Past tense of course, given those days are over. But there have been occasions when I or we failed in our objectives and usually such passed into history without fuss. Reading can frustrate me sometimes - and I usually blame the author - but that might just be a symptom of getting old. But perhaps is more about believing in Bertrand Russell's views, that writing shouldn't be more complicated than it needs to be.

So which do you find the more difficult to deal with, if either - success or failure?

I would phrase it "Which is better" for me.

IMO, failure is better. It is an opportunity for improvement.
Success may temporarily make you feel good but doesn't really last long.
To fail, learn and do better the next time I see as having more benefits.

 

[SalixIncendium]

So which do you find the more difficult to deal with, if either - success or failure?

It depends on the expectations one has for the results of either.

If you have inflated expectations of what success will bring, you may find yourself less inclined to think success is any better than failure.

Conversely, if one anticipates failure at the outset, then failure isn't much of a let-down.

 

[an anarchist]

My experience has taught me that man is never quite so near success as when that which he calls “failure” has overtaken him, for it is on occasions of this sort he is forced to think. If he thinks accurately, and with persistence, he discovers that so-called failure nothing more than a signal to re-arm himself with a new plan or purpose. Most real failures are due to the limitations which men set up in their own minds. If they had the courage to go one step further they would discover their error.
- Andrew Carnegie
I have dealt with failure all my life, I am still learning how to deal with it. So I would say failure is more hard to deal with for me. But with time, I will turn failure into success.

 

[Vitality]

Psychologically speaking, I struggle with failure due to a lifetime of being put down and made to feel like I’m not good enough by the people closest to me.

Practically speaking, I struggle with success because my primary goal is mere survival. It wasn’t until my late 20’s when I realized my potential. I feel like my entire adult life has been spent playing catch-up from my underdeveloped and misguided youth.

 

[Twilight Hue]

As to the effects upon you. Given that success often doesn't bring the rewards so often imagined - often feelings of 'so what' and 'what's the next challenge' might be a couple of things to interrupt the euphoria that commonly occurs. And failure often isn't dealt with effectively - as to acceptance, analysis of what went wrong, and how to get better, for example.

Personally, I have never been that competitive, certainly not in normal sports, and this can probably be judged by the (outdoor) activities I have chosen during my life, which were more team orientated or done on my own as personal challenges. I've probably had as much success as I've wanted - in the goals I have set - and acceptance probably came easily since I mostly knew I would succeed, given I do seem to have the perseverance and endurance when required. Past tense of course, given those days are over. But there have been occasions when I or we failed in our objectives and usually such passed into history without fuss. Reading can frustrate me sometimes - and I usually blame the author - but that might just be a symptom of getting old. But perhaps is more about believing in Bertrand Russell's views, that writing shouldn't be more complicated than it needs to be.

So which do you find the more difficult to deal with, if either - success or failure?

I think its all relative.

I find some of my 'failures' were in fact successes.

 

[stvdv]

So which do you find the more difficult to deal with, if either - success or failure?

Success is easy to deal with for me

Hence I get a lot of failures I guess

Accepting failing took quite a while
I am finally getting better at it now
So, maybe time fo success

 

[Mock Turtle]

I tend to agree with you all who have issues with failures, given that much of my life has been such - as to what I might have wanted overall rather than what I got - and perhaps I just didn't try hard enough to remedy such. But then we often have to work with who we are and what we have as resources at the time. Which might be seen in retrospective but hardly useful as to altering the past, but at least some learning has usually occurred.

 

[PureX]

The best thing is to ignore them both as ideas all together. Do what you can with what you have and more options will present themselves. No expectations, no regrets, and lots of gratitude. Life will give itself to you if you quit trying to strangle your desires out of it.

 

[syo]

So which do you find the more difficult to deal with, if either - success or failure?

Both are worst.