Feeling like a failure and failing at something in particular are two completely separate thoughts. Although motivational speakers tend to leave out the negative impacts failures in life can leave on us, there is much truth in what they speak. If you look past the overly positive statements even almost painting a pollyanna type picture you can see this.

I have failed many times in life at doing certain things and at times, like most people here, it had defeated me for awhile making progress seemingly impossible at the time, but once I got past the depression and self defeating, self loathing thinking, in hind sight nearly every time, I've learned and grown a bit. No failure is without it's silver lining as long as you can look at it and see that something went wrong, that we made a mistake and move away from that.

In life for me, every failure and down time in my life is a growth spurt. With every challenge and defeat, I learn, grow, and build my character more. Without these failures in life, there is no reward for success. I think in essence this is what the motivational and postive speakers are talking about.

Dont' get me wrong, I wholeheartedly understand and empathize with those times when you feel overall like a failure, I've been there, not once, or twice but many times but overall, I do not feel like my failures are the whole of my life, therefore, I myself am not a failure.