How do you treat failure?
Our Mom and Son Podcast this week is about failure. If you haven’t listened to it, here are the links: (Spotify, Apple iTunes, Buzzsprout and YouTube).There’s a stigma attached to the word “fail.” Nobody wants to be called a failure or loser. But in order to be a winner, you have to risk losing.
When our sons were growing up, my husband would challenge them to a game of basketball, table tennis, video games, and other sports just for fun. At first, he would allow them to have a tight game with him. In other words, he would first play with his right hand (he’s left-handed) and as they went on, he would play with his dominant hand and give it his best shot, making it harder and harder for them saying, “No more Mr. Nice Guy, I’m gonna cream you!”
The boys all agree on one thing, “Papa has this annoying way of laughing when he’s winning na nakakapikon!” But all of these papa antics made our sons realize that losing is really part of life. Somehow, they are more courageous in competing, and trying out new things.
Among their most valuable lessons from their father was this: “If you learn how to lose, you will never lose!”
I remember when they were very young and we would attend children’s parties, they readily joined the games, eager to take a shot at winning those prizes. Then I would see kids who were painfully shy and wouldn’t join, despite prodding from their parents and the party host. Sometimes I would ask why and the usual answer was, “He/She is worried that he/she might not win.”
Come to think of it, isn’t this the very reason we, adults, don’t try things out also? We are afraid that we might not get what we aspire to achieve. We are concerned about what people might think of us.
Even in the way we handle our finances, this is also at work. Don’t you hear some people say this, “Ako, ayoko naman talagang yumaman e." And this would be followed by different reasons and justifications. Oftentimes, I wonder if they’re just saying this because they’re afraid to try to be rich but fail to achieve it?
Unfortunately, once you give yourself those justifications, you sort of program your whole being to autopilot: “I will never be rich.” It’s fine if that’s what you really want. Just make sure that you don’t burden other people in the future due to the consequence of your decision.
The other side of the ‘failure coin’
Inasmuch as we don’t always shy away from failure, we should not go out there seeking it. Yes, failure is the best teacher but we should also be wise enough not to waste our time on obvious and avoidable mistakes. There are mistakes that we don’t have to experience ourselves anymore because the ones who came before us already suffered the consequences and have even documented their failures for us to learn from.
We know that abusing alcohol and drugs are sure losses. Getting in a relationship with someone who’s already committed is a sure way to break not just your heart but somebody else’s, most of the time including innocent family members. Investing in too-good-to-be-true promised returns are obviously scams. (To read more on this, click LINK). I’m sure you have more to add to this list. 
So what’s a healthy dose of failure?
When we talk about not being afraid to fail, we are talking about not being afraid to take the risk of losing because there is a great possibility of winning, and this is something good.
This healthy dose of failure is applicable to your money management, your choices in career, health, love, relationships and other aspects of life.
Cheers to life’s failures and wins! 
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Mom and Son Podcast - Season 2 Episode 13 (The importance of failing)
How important is failing and making mistakes in our day to day life to really improve? In this week's episode, we discuss embracing failure as the stepping stone to success. We talk about the proper mindset we believe one should have when facing failures along the one.
We would also like to thank everyone for joining us the past six months as we conclude Season 2 of the Mom and Son Podcast. We have a lot more exciting stuff in store for Season 3 and can't wait to share it with you all.
#MomAndSonPodcast
Stream it now!
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ugRWdSx9lGoH8u9QDsSsQ?si=_03NS0hGTOugH7IZ_uomMg
YouTube
https://youtu.be/bx-qYvfV1BQ
Poster image: http://www.theaveragefather.com/podcast/gift-failure/
2. Thanks to those who already bought the FQ Book, especially to those who took the time out to send me their feedback. Your feedback is food for my soul. To those who have not gotten their copy yet, here’s a short preview of "FQ: The nth Intelligence."
You may now purchase the book in major bookstores, or if you want autographed copies, please go to FQ Mom FB page (click SHOP), or FQMom.com (click BOOKS), or email us at FQMomm@gmail.com
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Rose Fres Fausto is a speaker and author of bestselling books Raising Pinoy Boys and The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon (English and Filipino versions). Click this link to read samples – Books of FQ Mom. She is a behavioral economist, a certified Gallup strengths coach and the grand prize winner of the first Sinag Financial Literacy Digital Journalism Awards. Follow her on Facebook&YouTube as FQ Mom, and Twitter&Instagram as theFQMom. Her latest book is "FQ: The nth Intelligence."
ATTRIBUTIONS: Photos from liberaldictionary.com, newhealthadvisor.com, weirdomatic.com, shutterstock.com, kisspng.com, and freepik.com, modified and used to help deliver the message of the article.
