Project Alchemy Part Three: Find the Reasons Why

Project Alchemy Part Three: Find the Reasons Why

After a failure, especially a painful one, it's common to ask, "why did this happen?"  Some people will tell you that whatever "it" is, it's part of some master plan.  You went bankrupt?  It's for the best.  Your company went out of business?  It happened for a reason.  You suffered a miscarriage, or a broken relationship?  It wasn't meant to be. 

When someone greets you with this kind of response, it can be very difficult advice to swallow.  If you believe in a higher power, it may be hard to stomach the fact that he or she would make pain, exhaustion, and broken dreams a part of the natural plan.  And if you don't believe in divine purpose, you may think it's all a big crap shoot anyway, and you just have some bad luck.

Perhaps try to look at it a bit differently.  What if there was a plan?  What if your failure did happen for reason?  What if 10 years from now you knew you would look back and say, "Boy I'm glad that happened"?  Timing and process play a huge part in absolutely everything.  We learn as we go, and there is simply no way around this simple principle.

It might be hard to go to that place where pain and failure are residing.  But I ask you to try, just for a moment.  Imagine that there is some huge, divine, incredible plan.  Imagine that everything that happens, does happen for reason.  Now, look at your own failure, and ask what that reason might be.

If you went bankrupt, can you see that your failure might help bring your attention back to the true priorities in your life, or at least help get you out of the geographic area that is no longer resonating with you?  If a relationship broke up, could it be that this will help you have the confidence to go after your own dreams? Could a failed product actually bring you to a better idea, one you wouldn't have discovered if you'd spent an incredible amount of time and resources on your first plan?

I'm not asking you to believe that there is a higher power guiding each and every one of your movements and decisions.  What I am hoping that you can see, is that there is the potential for growth and wisdom to come out of your 'failure'.  

Many times when people suffer a huge setback, whether it be battling cancer, a financial upset, or even a broken relationship, years later they often come back and say they are glad it occurred.  It is my wish in writing this, for you to embrace your process once again and see that glimmer of hope that is inevitably always there - just waiting for you to begin again.

This brings us now to Part 4: Conducting a Project 'Postmortem'.

*Click here to view the Introduction and first two parts of this series.