Writing tips

How Does Your Character Handle Failure?

At some point, our character will fail. It hurts, but it teaches them to get back up again. How they cope says a lot about who they are.

Blame: The blamer makes it about other people. The lesson they must learn: be accountable and responsible.

Quit: Quitters get bruised egos and take themselves out of the game. The lesson: lose the entitlement and become a force of will.

Minimize: Minimizers protect their feelings by trying to lessen the value of the win. The lesson: stop lying about what matters.

Refuse: Refusers deny failure occured; in their minds they "won" They can't take criticism and believe other opinions are invalid. The lesson: Take self-importnace down a peg.

Recommit: Recommitters question their path. But the goal's closeness encourages them to go all-in. The lesson: don't give up.

Adapt: Adapters see failure as part of the process. They let go. The lesson: find your passion and believe in yourself.

Assess & Apply: Double A types move past failure by assessing their performance and deciding what needs to be done, then seeking out help. The lesson: None. They already know evolving is a process and asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

Personalize: Personalizers take failure to heart. It erodes their self-worth, leading to a gloomy belief that their life is one big failure. The lesson: Failure doesn't define you, but your reaction to it might.

Wallow: Wallowers can't move on and want others to cater to them. The lesson: Wallowing makes you weak.