Why Failure Is Never Final

As young children, we begin our indoctrination into one of the foundational beliefs of Western civilization: Failure is bad-very bad. As we get older, the stakes can include unfortunate experiences like unemployment, bankruptcy, divorce, and the wounding of our self-worth. Over time, we might stop thinking we've failed at something in particular and start believing that we are failures. But the truth is, if we're willing to venture anything at all, we're going to fail. The question is, how will we view our failures-and what will we do with them?

Why Failure Is Never Final explores the path of putting our failures in perspective-and becoming better because of them. Dr. Gregory Jantz reminds us that God's definition of success has more to do with who we are than what we do. Misinterpreting failures can impose obstacles to our dreams, but the good news is that we can take preemptive action. Dr. Jantz discusses several strategies for reframing our blunders, including:

• resolving to move forward, not backward
• coming clean about our mistakes
• forgiving ourselves
• avoiding self-sabotaging behavior

Throughout the book, Dr. Jantz emphasizes that (1) failure is part of being human, and (2) the key to success lies in our determination to learn from our mistakes. The ultimate antidote to failure, Jantz concludes, is the rich gift of God's grace. Failure is never final... because God's love for us is forever.