We’ve been taught failure is a bad thing. When you spill a drink, someone calls out “Fail!” The lowest school grade is F for Fail. And let’s not begin to discuss the countless FAIL memes. Failing, by definition, is the opposite of success, yet, ironically, failure can lead to the greatest of successes. Thomas Edison failed more than 10,000 times in his attempt to create a commercially viable lightbulb. But Edison saw each of those 10,000 wrong ways to build his lightbulb as bringing him one step closer to discovering the one right way. They were not 10,000 failures; they were 10,000 opportunities. For many, failure is an important and natural pit stop on the road to success.

And you don’t have to fail 10,000 times to gain an opportunity for growth. Small, everyday failures are just as important as the catastrophes because studying their lessons can prevent future failures. And the best part? It only takes a little time each day to evaluate and learn from your failures.

During the last 15 minutes of your day, ask yourself what you failed at today. Be honest! Write it down so you can remember and keep a record of your journey. Next, determine what you learned from your failures. What behaviors can you implement to avoid the same failures? Repeat this process with the day’s successes. By evaluating your responses over time, you will begin to see patterns that can help you recognize and work with your strengths and weaknesses. Use those strengths and weaknesses to develop an action plan to create more success stories. Do you succeed when you ask questions? Take regular rest breaks? Surround your monitor with sticky notes? Apply those success tactics to the areas where you’ve been less than successful. You can even appoint an accountability coach to check in with you about your successes and failures.

With time, commitment, and patience, you’ll find yourself experiencing fewer failures. And although failures will inevitably happen, you’ll be better equipped to recover from them!