Anup Kochhar

“Failure is a social taboo.”

“We need to substitute ‘trier’ for failure. The word ‘fail’ is closely related to the word fall. A child taking his first step falls, cries and then tries again. Why does he try again? Because he wants to, but does not, know the meaning of failure.”

“Failure is like flu. It can happen to anyone. Just as it is difficult to find a person who hasn’t had the flu, it is difficult to find someone who has not been stuck by failure at some time.”

“The fear of failure kills creativity and intelligence. The only thing it produces is conformity.”

“Failure per se is not a disease but it can trigger anxiety, depression and even suicide. If failure can strike anyone, how can we handle it? Medical science has a well-defined mechanism in place for dealing with diseases – it identifies the symptoms and then prescribes a methodology for their management. Psychologists and Psychiatrists have management practices for dealing with anxiety and depression. But do we have a method for dealing with failure?”

“The fear of failure is not just the greatest fear of man, it is the fear of man. All other fears are avatars of the fear of failure.”

“Can we quantify failure in degrees and say, ‘on a 10 point scale this failure causes this much pain?’ Extremely difficult.”

“What does failure do to us? We fall into a vicious downward spiral. Failure is a lot like a shot from a double barrel gun but with a difference. The first shot is like the news which explodes in one’s face. But it is the second, after a short time lag, which causes the most damage. It comprises of pain, humiliation, shame, frustration and anger. The first shot pales in comparison. It is life after the blast that causes the most hurt.”

“The Fear of failure is the greatest fear of man. Even the fear of death is fear of failing to continue life.”