On the fear of making "failure" visible

Two months ago, I decided to share a reflection on LinkedIn about a situation I considered a failure:

Dealing with failure and frustration is something we aren't usually taught, yet it is vital: sooner or later, it will cross our path, and how we face it will make all the difference.

Today, for me, marks the culmination of a new failure: one more, one that had been simmering for a long time, but which inexorably colors every daily action and every thought.

When that moment arrives, all I can do is try to accept it, gut it to see what it's made of, and learn from it so I can close the chapter completely—not halfway—and try to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Today is a painful day, but tomorrow is a new day: I will let go of the dead weight to get back up and move forward. I will recover the lost excitement and motivation, the kind I had not so long ago and that has brought me to where I am today. 🌅

I know I have the support of a few people—not many, but the ones who truly matter—and that is what gives me the strength to try again. 💪

I will fail again, but next time it will be a different failure. 🔁

It is not the end; it is a lesson. I will get back up and I will do better.

I try to be a transparent person and often feel the need to externalize and make my mistakes and frustrations visible. Why? Let’s not kid ourselves: there are many more people than we might think who have gone through similar situations. But I am also aware that showing something like this could be detrimental when looking for a new project or an opportunity. Being rejected (usually in silence) from an opening just because you spoke about one of your failures says very little for that company, in my opinion.

We have all had, have, and will have failures of varying scales. They are part of the journey that has led us to where we are. What makes the difference is what you do with it: whether you close yourself off for fear of a repeat, whether it makes you cautious and better at assessing risks in the future, or whether you can learn from the mistakes you and others made. Because yes, I firmly believe that in most cases of failure (especially professional failure), the failure doesn't belong to just one individual. It is a shared failure from which all parties should attempt a self-evaluation to learn what to improve or change to avoid reaching that point of no return that failure usually represents.

I perfectly understand the fear of showing failure. Most people, especially those who live off their public image more than their actual work, will tell you that it's exposing your weaknesses.

I believe the exact opposite: showing your supposed weaknesses is like showing the scars of past wounds that have already healed. It is simply proof of all the battles you have fought before returning for the next one.