Many people associate identity development with adolescence or young adulthood, when we’re encouraged to ask: Who am I? What do I want from life?

Failure is often viewed as a stopping point—evidence that something has gone wrong or that progress has unraveled. In therapy, clients may carry this mindset into the room, interpreting setbacks as personal flaws or signs of regression. But what if failure wasn’t the end of the story, but rather a meaningful chapter in it?