proverb · Words worth keeping
Failures are but mileposts on the road to success.
Failures are but mileposts on the road to success.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes failures mileposts on a road to success. It gives setbacks a place within an ongoing attempt rather than treating them as its final meaning.
Example
Someone reviews a setback and decides whether to continue, revise the aim or seek another path.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The road image offers encouragement but assumes a destination that is not guaranteed. A responsible reading can consider what a setback reveals while allowing a change of aim or an end to the attempt. Not every loss is useful or a required stage of improvement.
When to use it
Use it as qualified encouragement with the destination unpromised.
Keep in mind
No guaranteed eventual success or necessary benefit from every setback is established.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown