Tao Te Ching – Chapter 79 – Failure is an Opportunity

Chapter 79 from the Tao Te Ching. New English Version, with Foreword and Notes, by Stephen Mitchell. Click here for access to an online reproduction of the book.

Failure is an opportunity.

If you blame someone else, 

there is no end to the blame.

Therefore the Master 

fulfills her own obligations 

and corrects her own mistakes.

She does what she needs to do 

and demands nothings of others.

Take a couple of minutes and read over this passage. What comes to mind? What emotions are evoked? What images do you see? What concepts resonate? For this exercise, it’s best to write down your reaction, or make an audio or video recording of your reaction.

When I read this some concepts come to mind:
- Have the strength to recognize when you make a mistake.
- Failure is part of life. Mistakes are part of life. We need to recognize and fix them.
- If we learn from our failures then they can become great opportunities for growth.
- We need to focus on our own failures and our own mistakes, rather than focusing on those of others.

This passage invokes in me a deep sense of humility. I think everyone understands the strength that it demands to realize when you have failed or made a mistake and the strength that it takes to rectify the failure or correct the mistake. 

I recall different incidences when I have had to admit to failure and the times that I corrected my mistakes and the times that I did not. I am proudest and fondest of the moments when I found the strength to correct my mistakes. And I remember with shame those moments that I shirked away from my responsibilities.



Note: See below to purchase a copy of the Tao Te Ching as translated by Stephen Mitchell.