Feeling depressed after multiple failure, any examples of failure to cheer me up

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7651059

by henrygrew • 12 years ago

15 13 12 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

gamebak• 12 years ago

I failed so many times that I lost the count (over 200+ times) with my experiments. But i gained so much info from them and I even started a company. Nothing big but I felt joy of one success over the burden of failures. What I learned is that I should create what I think it does amaze me and not really focus on the user side of things.

benrmatthews• 12 years ago

Started a side project at http://www.fayl.io/ to capture some stories of failure - but more importantly, the lessons learned.

Chin up, get back on the saddle - you're learning through your failures.

throw87• 12 years ago

Depression is a medical disorder, and if you're not just feeling down but you're actually depressed, please go to a doctor. I mean this in your best interests. Depression is a terrible thing and needs proper medical attention.

rpm4321• 12 years ago

I just came across this yesterday - "Stories of failure and redemption – 18 startup founders share their lowest moments before coming out on top":

https://www.attendly.com/stories-of-failure-and-redemption-1...

hynahmwxsbyb• 12 years ago

The most damaging failures are those that lead to a loss of purpose and place you on the edge of the abyss. If you're there I would go see medical attention. Otherwise we have very few options. Give up, or charge on. With enough rounds at the table you are bound to get a good hand. But try to focus on the positives and donyour best not to dwell on the negatives. It's easy to get into a death spiral of depression and that helps no one.

RighteousFervor• 12 years ago

I spent several weeks focusing on a single project, only to find out I was confused and wasted my time.

I'm not even sure how I managed to go so far without realizing it. It's never happened to me before. Brutal.

tluyben22• 12 years ago

Weeks? That's early detection; that's success :) The longest example of that who I know of is a guy who hired me around 10 years ago; at that time his company was 15 years old and he had not made any money with it. I spoke to him 2 years ago, so his company 23 years or so old; he decided to close up shop as after 23 years he found that what he did was useless and a waste of time. 23 years. 23 years without earning any(! seriously) money and chasing a product no-one (in hindsight) will ever want. That is brutal.

tluyben22• 12 years ago

I try to learn from every failure and after some of the biggest fails of my life in '12 I came out a rather different but much better (for both my environment and myself) person. When you are in a dark place, everything looks like a failure even though it is not; once you notice that success is back.

determinant• 12 years ago

I kind of view "failure" as just another folded hand in a game of Texas Hold'em. At some point, you might take down a pot to make up for past failures. You might not take down that pot and you might end up broke and penniless, but the outcomes don't really define whether or not you played the hand properly.

You always have to play your hand to the best of your abilities, even if you get dealt life's equivalent of 7-2 off-suit.

akg_67• 12 years ago

6. Predict Your Failures and You will Become a Highly Successful Prophet.

7. The Pain of Unfulfilled Dreams can be worst ache you will ever experience.

10. Ordinary People attain extraordinary success - you can too!

11. Overnight success happens only in fairy tales, trashy novels, and bad movies.

13. Always expect the unexpected because the only certainty is uncertainty.

18. Self-pity costs nothing and it is worth just as much.

19. You can be a victim or you can be successful - You can't be both, however.

53. The most creative shortcut to success is to reevaluate what success means to you.

73. You can't always get what you want, but you can get a lot more than you think you can.

Source: Ernie J. Zelinski, 101 Really Important Things You Already Know, But Keep Forgetting: How to Make Your Life More Enjoyable Day-by-Day, Year-by-Year http://www.amazon.com/Really-Important-Things-Already-Forget...

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zealon• 12 years ago

I've felt this way too many times, until I realized that it's better to be relaxed, fail and correct your own mistakes, than never fail.

If you try to never fail, you're trying to never be wrong and that's impossible because of human nature. After trying to never be wrong (and failing) for a long time, the result is depression. And a very depressed person starts to fail at almost everything.

Ironically, trying to never fail leads to failing more frequently.

Some advice:

1. Failing and correcting (iterate!) is better than never failing.

2. Problems are targets for your skills, and they are not always your fault.

3. Prioritize, always! Solving the most important problems first buys you time to solve the less important ones.

4. Too much pressure is an enemy of success. When under pressure, the brain switches to life-or-death mode, so it mostly shuts down rational reasoning... the exact same brain functions you need for solving problems and be successful!

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rainmaking• 12 years ago

There is a very interesting story of a gold miner in San Francisco in eighteen-something who gave up on a gold mine a foot away from the ore.

When he found out, apparently his thoughts of "I might be a foot away from the ore" gave him huge amounts of grit and perseverance and he ended up getting quite rich doing chain stores.

Feeling depressed after multiple failure, any examples of failure to cheer me up

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