--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we perceive as a failure may simply…" description: "\"What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being's way of telling us that we are ready to move to a new level of growth.\" — Anne Wilson Schaef" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg" --- # What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner… ![“What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being's way of telling us that we are ready to move to a new level of growth.” quote by Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg) > “What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being's way of telling us that we are ready to move to a new level of growth.” [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Failure can be a signal that you’re prepared for a higher stage of personal development. **In simple terms:** Failure may indicate readiness for growth. Key Takeaway View setbacks as growth cues. Themes growth failure self-awareness transition potential Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career changes - learning new skills - spiritual journeys - creative projects Key Concepts Psychology of resilience personal development Questions to Reflect On - What failures have taught you something valuable? - How do you differentiate true failure from necessary change? A Different Perspective Not every setback leads to growth; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-simply-864268/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Inner Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-way-3904686/) [Level Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/level-growth-4624696/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Perceive Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive-failure-4624695/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [What fundamentally makes a Targaryen is an inner fire that is, in some way, in your genetics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-d-arcy/what-fundamentally-makes-a-targaryen-is-an-inner-fire-that-is-in-some/) [Emma D'Arcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-d-arcy/) > [“What you perceive as a failure today may actually be a crucial step towards the success you seek. Never give up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/what-you-perceive-as-a-failure-today-may-actually-be-a-crucial-step/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Keep in mind too, our failures serve to teach us, and usually teach us more than our successes do. What we may perceive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-weakley/keep-in-mind-too-our-failures-serve-to-teach-us-and-usually-teach-us/) [Laura Weakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-weakley/) > [I was taught that to create anything you had to believe in failure, simply because you had to be prepared to go through an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-mclaren/i-was-taught-that-to-create-anything-you-had-to-believe-in-failure/) [Malcolm Mclaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-mclaren/) > [Failure does not exist. Failure is simply someone else's opinion of how a certain act should have been completed. Once you believe that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/failure-does-not-exist-failure-is-simply-someone-else-s-opinion-of/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Rehearsing failure is simply a bad habit, not a productive use of your time. When you choose to visualize the path that works, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/rehearsing-failure-is-simply-a-bad-habit-not-a-productive-use-of-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/failure-is-simply-a-few-errors-in-judgment-repeated-every-day/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Failure is simply the non-presence of success. But a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/failure-is-simply-the-non-presence-of-success-but-a-fiasco-is-a/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/success-is-nothing-more-than-a-few-simple-disciplines-practiced-every-2/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Remember, your failure does not define you, your determination does. Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, smarter than before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/remember-your-failure-does-not-define-you-your-determination-does/) [Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/) > [If you find it difficult to accept failure then you simply won't get any innovation because employees will be too frightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-leahy/if-you-find-it-difficult-to-accept-failure-then-you-simply-won-t-get/) [Terry Leahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-leahy/) > [Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/failure-is-simply-the-opportunity-to-begin-again-this-time-more/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-is-nothing-more-than-a-few-simple-disciplines-practiced-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To try is to accept the possibility of failure. Simply do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/to-try-is-to-accept-the-possibility-of-failure-simply-do/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/failure-is-simply-an-opportunity-to-begin-again-this-time-more/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) ## More by Anne Wilson Schaef > [Almost everyone seems to worry about something, and yet, we rarely talk about worry as a problem. Maybe that is because worry is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/almost-everyone-seems-to-worry-about-something-and-yet-we-rarely-talk/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [I realize that humor isn't for everyone. It's only for people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and feel alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/i-realize-that-humor-isn-t-for-everyone-it-s-only-for-people-who-want/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [“Asking for help does not mean that we are weak or incompetent. It usually indicates an advanced level of honesty and intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/asking-for-help-does-not-mean-that-we-are-weak-or-incompetent-it/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [All of us need to talk to someone who's interesting, intelligent, knows us well, and is on our side - and that's us. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/all-of-us-need-to-talk-to-someone-who-s-interesting-intelligent-knows/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Getting to the top isn't bad, and it's probably best done as an afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/getting-to-the-top-isn-t-bad-and-it-s-probably-best-done-as-an/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Trusting our intuition often saves us from disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/trusting-our-intuition-often-saves-us-from-disaster/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Our culture has valued closed systems and tries to generate them in all walks of life. Women are better at and more comfortable with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/our-culture-has-valued-closed-systems-and-tries-to-generate-them-in/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Looking after my health today gives me a better hope for tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/looking-after-my-health-today-gives-me-a-better-hope-for-tomorrow/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Security is an attempt to try to make the universe static so that we feel safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/security-is-an-attempt-to-try-to-make-the-universe-static-so-that-we/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [It is not what I do, it is the way I do it, that will get me in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/it-is-not-what-i-do-it-is-the-way-i-do-it-that-will-get-me-in-the-end/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [We can influence who we will be tomorrow, for tomorrow can only be built on today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/we-can-influence-who-we-will-be-tomorrow-for-tomorrow-can-only-be/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Whole areas of knowledge and information have been defined into nonexistence because the system cannot know, understand, control, or measure them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/whole-areas-of-knowledge-and-information-have-been-defined-into/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Healthy people live with their world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/healthy-people-live-with-their-world/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [It is not necessary to deny another's reality in order to affirm your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/it-is-not-necessary-to-deny-another-s-reality-in-order-to-affirm-your/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [Knowing ourselves and how we feel can help us improve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/knowing-ourselves-and-how-we-feel-can-help-us-improve/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) [Explore all 28 Anne Wilson Schaef quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being's way of telling us that we are ready to move to a new level of growth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Wilson Schaef" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply-be-our-inner-being-s-way-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply-be-our-inner-being-s-way-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/anne-wilson-schaef-21599_failure_what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply_556823.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being's way of telling us that we are ready to move to…” — Anne Wilson Schaef", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Wilson Schaef", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What we perceive as a failure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply-be-our-inner-being-s-way-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/what-we-perceive-as-a-failure-may-simply-be-our-inner-being-s-way-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```