“At the moment a question crosses your mind, mentally picture yourself grasping it and responding to it. It is at this precise moment that a choice is made. You learn thus to take the right path. You learn thus to become a decision-maker and not an undecided one.” – H. VAN ANDERSON

Business professors Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad wrote a book after conducting an experiment with a group of monkeys. It’s the story of a dismal failure.

Four monkeys were locked in a room with a pole in the center, atop which a bunch of bananas was hung. One hungry monkey began to climb the pole, but just as he was about to grab a banana, he was sprayed with icy water. He descended with loud cries and gave up on eating. Each animal made a similar attempt, and each received a cold water shower. After several tries, all eventually gave up.

The researchers then removed one of the monkeys from the room and replaced it with another. As the newcomer began to climb the pole, the three original monkeys grabbed him and brought him back to the ground. After several attempts to climb the pole, thwarted each time by his peers, he finally gave up and made no further attempts.

The researchers replaced the original monkeys one by one, and each time a new animal was placed in the room, the others would bring it back to the ground before it could reach the bananas. At one point, the room was filled with monkeys who had never received an icy shower. None of them attempted to climb the pole, but none of them knew why.

DON’T LET FAILURE TURN YOU INTO A MONKEY

Unfortunately, people who have become accustomed to failure are much like these monkeys. They repeatedly make the same mistakes, but they never quite know why. Consequently, they never leave what I call the highway of failure. The old adage holds true:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.“

Let’s face it, people are prone to sticking to the beaten path. And anyone who has been conditioned to believe that failing is their destiny will have a hard time leaving the highway of failure. If you feel like one of the monkeys in the experiment, meaning you never seem to get what you desire but don’t know why, then examine the path of people prone to failure and try to find a solution.

IT ALL STARTS WITH A MESS

It’s a mistake, a defeat, or some sort of mess that gets people onto the highway of failure. But those unable to get off it believe it’s not their fault. They resemble those drivers who gave the following explanations after an accident:

*“As I came to an intersection, a hedge came up and blocked my view.”
*“An invisible car came out of nowhere, hit my car, and disappeared.”
*“The telephone pole was approaching quickly. I tried to avoid it when it hit me head on.”
*“The indirect cause of this accident is a little boy in a small car with a big mouth.”
*“I had been driving my car for four years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.”

*“I was on my way to the doctor with problems in the back of my vehicle. When my universal joint failed, causing an accident.”
*“To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front of me, I hit the pedestrian.”
*“When I got home, I took the wrong entrance and hit a tree I didn’t see.”
*“I was just following the cars behind me.”
*“The pedestrian had no idea which way to go, so I ran over him.”
*“The guy was all over the road, and I had to swerve a few times before I hit him.”
*“I stood along the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and went over the embankment.”

Many people who ride on the highway of failure make mistakes but refuse to admit them. They constantly blame others. And consequently, they typically react in one or more of the following ways:

*They explode

Anger is one of the reactions that keeps people on the highway of failure. You’ve probably witnessed it. People make a small mistake and react excessively, venting their frustration on themselves or those around them. Unbridled anger magnifies a small problem. Charles Buxton, an English author of the 19th century, put it this way:

“Anger is the scourge of the human race. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. Man’s venom poisons him far more than its victim.“

If a person doesn’t govern their mood, it will govern them.

*They hide

Human nature dictates that we try to cover up our mistakes. This tendency is as old as time, and it usually doesn’t yield more results today than it did for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

“Don’t waste your energy trying to cover up your mistakes. Learn from failure and move on to the next challenge. Failing is not serious. If you don’t fail, you don’t grow.“

I heard a joke about a young naval pilot that illustrates well how people often react after making a mistake. Before takeoff, the admiral had ordered complete radio silence to all involved in the maneuvers. But one pilot accidentally turned on his radio, and he was heard murmuring: “God, you have to be nuts!”

And the admiral, grabbing the microphone from an operator, said: “Let the pilot who broke radio silence identify himself immediately!” There was a long silence, and then a voice came over the airwaves: “I might be nuts, but not that nuts!”

But people’s desire to hide their mistakes from others isn’t always as amusing. For instance, consider the case of Nicholas Leeson. In 1995, this 38-year-old man worked for the British bank Barings. He juggled enormous sums and his tasks involved making this money grow through an investment process called “casino-style.”

But when Nicholas Leeson’s transactions resulted in colossal losses, he didn’t speak up and engaged in even riskier transactions in hopes of…

This text is an excerpt from the book “Overcoming Adversity: How to Use Your Mistakes as a Springboard to Success” by John C. Maxwell.

We invite you to read the following article “To Overcome Adversity, You Must Wake Up“.