Why is it easier to write about failure once there’s already a happy ending?
We can structure a finished story like this: “This is where I went wrong, this is what I learned, and this is how I succeeded.” As long as the problem persists, we may have only uncertainties and the phrase: “I don’t know if it will work out.”
In business, this is not just a matter of vanity. People have partners, employees, and obligations. They can’t air every concern publicly, nor is everyone obligated to turn their difficulties into content.
Still, when we talk about experience, it’s worth leaving room for what hasn’t been resolved. A project we’ve invested months in might end up without a buyer. A wrong decision doesn’t have to turn out to be a stroke of genius later on.
A sincere story doesn’t have to offer a lesson that justifies everything. Sometimes it’s valuable to hear how someone assessed a situation, where they went wrong, and what they still don’t know.
The question isn’t only whether we’re ready to write such a text. Are we ready to read it without expecting that, in the end, it will all have been worth it after all?
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