--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Failure taught him that he could have…" description: "\"“Failure taught him that he could have made the right choice. I could have tried.”\" — H. L. Balcomb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/h-l-balcomb-39626_afterlife_failure-taught-him-that-he-could-have-ma_1722765.jpg" --- # Failure taught him that he could have made the right… ![“Failure taught him that he could have made the right choice. I could have tried.” quote by H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/h-l-balcomb-39626_afterlife_failure-taught-him-that-he-could-have-ma_1722765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/h-l-balcomb-39626_afterlife_failure-taught-him-that-he-could-have-ma_1722765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/h-l-balcomb-39626_afterlife_failure-taught-him-that-he-could-have-ma_1722765.jpg) > ““Failure taught him that he could have made the right choice. I could have tried.”” [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing failure reveals missed opportunities and the chance to try again. **In simple terms:** Failure shows we could have chosen better. Key Takeaway Learn from mistakes and act. Themes failure learning choice growth Mood introspective motivational Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career setbacks - personal relationships - creative projects Key Concepts self‑reflection decision theory Questions to Reflect On - What can you do differently after a failure? - How does hindsight bias affect your view? A Different Perspective May over‑emphasize personal responsibility, ignoring external factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choice Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-tried-1354894/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-taught-1288825/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Right choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-choice/) ## Related quotes > [“Kill him with your blessings of healing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/kill-him-with-your-blessings-of-healing/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [Most girls are taught to avoid risk and failure. We're taught to smile pretty, play it safe, get all A's. Boys, on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/most-girls-are-taught-to-avoid-risk-and-failure-we-re-taught-to-smile/) [Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/) > [Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously, that you might as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/some-failure-in-life-is-inevitable-it-is-impossible-to-live-without/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“Let your experience be not one of failure but one that has taught you new things which you would not have known had you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epiphana-lewis/let-your-experience-be-not-one-of-failure-but-one-that-has-taught-you/) [Epiphana Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epiphana-lewis/) > [“My failure taught me to seek opportunities in which I had an advantage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/my-failure-taught-me-to-seek-opportunities-in-which-i-had-an-advantage/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“Once you believe that god is not a private property of anybody, you are on your way to becoming a new messiah. Maybe your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/once-you-believe-that-god-is-not-a-private-property-of-anybody-you/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“Forgiveness, she was only required to accept the seed of healing, and to let it grow on its own time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/forgiveness-she-was-only-required-to-accept-the-seed-of-healing-and/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“The flowers' beauty drew her closer to them like a magnetic force. She felt compelled to walk a little faster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/the-flowers-beauty-drew-her-closer-to-them-like-a-magnetic-force-she/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“I feel more alive now than I did while on earth. I am coming to terms with the notion that death is truly another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/i-feel-more-alive-now-than-i-did-while-on-earth-i-am-coming-to-terms/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“Heaven is inside us,' Ida uttered in a rather loud whisper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/heaven-is-inside-us-ida-uttered-in-a-rather-loud-whisper/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [As difficult as these choices were, they were right choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-difficult-as-these-choices-were-they-were-right-choices/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are creator of your own destiny. Destiny is not per choice.It is achieved by making right choice & than go with all efforts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/you-are-creator-of-your-own-destiny-destiny-is-not-per-choice-it-is/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [I teach my children that in life, there is no control of what tomorrow is going to bring. There really isn't. But in whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-winans/i-teach-my-children-that-in-life-there-is-no-control-of-what-tomorrow/) [BeBe Winans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-winans/) ## More by H. L. Balcomb > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“Heaven is inside us,' Ida uttered in a rather loud whisper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/heaven-is-inside-us-ida-uttered-in-a-rather-loud-whisper/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“Kill him with your blessings of healing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/kill-him-with-your-blessings-of-healing/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“I feel more alive now than I did while on earth. I am coming to terms with the notion that death is truly another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/i-feel-more-alive-now-than-i-did-while-on-earth-i-am-coming-to-terms/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“The flowers' beauty drew her closer to them like a magnetic force. She felt compelled to walk a little faster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/the-flowers-beauty-drew-her-closer-to-them-like-a-magnetic-force-she/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“Forgiveness, she was only required to accept the seed of healing, and to let it grow on its own time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/forgiveness-she-was-only-required-to-accept-the-seed-of-healing-and/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“Suddenly, he felt a tremendous stirring of hope inside his heart; it filled his whole body with its warmth. I may not be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/suddenly-he-felt-a-tremendous-stirring-of-hope-inside-his-heart-it/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“It thanked her for the life she breathed into hits being; without her influence, this little being would not have been in the Garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/it-thanked-her-for-the-life-she-breathed-into-hits-being-without-her/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“His Nana's prayers were moving toward his mother like little butterflies of thoughts wrapped in the most beautiful colors. Each prayer looked like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/his-nana-s-prayers-were-moving-toward-his-mother-like-little/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [“He was humbled by her infinite love toward him - it shone through even in his afterlife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/he-was-humbled-by-her-infinite-love-toward-him-it-shone-through-even/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) [Explore all 11 H. L. Balcomb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I guess on one hand I believe it doesn't matter if there is life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/i-guess-on-one-hand-i-believe-it-doesn-t-matter-if-there-is-life/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Failure taught him that he could have made the right choice. I could have tried.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. L. 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