How to Live After Failure

Sooner or later we must confront the reality that none of us live up perfectly to our ideals. We all fail—not just at projects, but in deeper ways that touch the whole self and affect others. In this clip, Ryan McAnnally-Linz explores how personal failure challenges our sense of a life worth living, and why responding with repentance, forgiveness, resilience, and growth is central to flourishing.

Highlights

1. “We all fall short one way or another, one time or another.”
2. “Failure like this tends to involve other people.”
3. “It’s important to ask how we should respond when we fail to live as we should.”
4. “There’s no one answer here that everybody agrees on.”
5. “Learning how we ought to respond in those moments gives us the resources we need to pick up the pieces and move on.”

The reality of failure

• “We all fall short one way or another, one time or another.”
• None of us live up perfectly to our ideals.

Everyday vs. personal failure

• Distinguishing project failure (grades, work, goals) from personal failure.
• Personal failure involves the whole self and affects others.
• “Failure like this tends to involve other people.”

Responding wisely

• “It’s important to ask how we should respond when we fail to live as we should.”
• Repentance, seeking forgiveness, and committing to do better.
• Resilience in the face of falling short.

No single answer

• “There’s no one answer here that everybody agrees on.”
• Different traditions, contexts, and individuals provide varied approaches.

Resources for moving forward

• “Learning how we ought to respond in those moments gives us the resources we need to pick up the pieces and move on.”
• Failure as a teacher of humility, wisdom, and resilience.