Is failure really a failure?

I read an interesting blog today that brought up a nice line of thought so I thought I would pose this question to you.

Is failure really a failure?

What do I mean by that?  Well in any sense, your personal life, business etc.  When you have a goal set in mind, what is your first thought if you don't reach it?

Are you the type of person that gets in a bad mood, let it affect how you are the rest of the day? In essence do you see it in the light that 'you failed' and were not good enough, or tried hard enough to meet the goal?

Or are you the type of person that looks at what happened, reviews it, then re-adjusts how they did things to ensure that the next time this goal was tried it would have a better chance at success?

Did you notice I didn't put down the fact you WOULD succeed the next time, only that it could change the chances of success?  The reason is that sometimes you might have to fail at something multiple times before you succeed at it.

The key in all of this is to LEARN from those mistakes, and try to take it in a positive light.  It is much easier to focus on the negative side of things than to look at the positive.  Positive does take work, constantly but it has its rewards in the end.

 "I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." -Edison. 

That is one of my favorite quotes from Edison.  He looked at things in a positive light and was eventually very successful.

In both business and your personal life, this is a good way to approach things.  I know I have failed, rather spectacularly at times I might add.  The great thing though is I try to look at those times as a learning experience and grow from them.

I know nothing worthwhile is risk-free, but that is what adds the zest in life I think, taking those risks and seeing where the ride takes you.