Throughout our entire lives, we are constantly told that we need to accomplish things. We need to set goals and make sure that they are completed successfully. Whether we are in school, we are at work, or we are just trying to get through our daily lives, we are surrounded by people telling us that success is the key to everything. Teachers, parents, and friends are the ones that are beating it into our minds that if we want to be happy, we must be successful. However, the moment we fail at something, the people that reminded us about being successful, are the ones that shame us for failing. They say that when we fail, we will be unhappy and we will just live out our lives without being content with our past.
However, I think that in order to succeed you must fail. Failing is something that is hard to swallow. It seems that human beings look at failure as being bad or as something that we simply cannot do. When we fail, a little trigger in our brain goes off sending waves through our mind telling us that we are not any good and that we will not make anything of ourselves. Not once does it go through our minds that this failure we just had will lead us to be the most successful person we can be. How so?
Failure is just a stepping stool to success. Whenever we fail at something, it shows us how we can do something different. Just because we failed at something, does not mean we are bad at it, it only means that maybe this time around, it wasn't something that was meant to be. We now have the option of looking back on the failure and thinking about how we could have done it differently. Once that has been done, we are given the opportunity to go back and work harder. We can change the outcome this time.
For example, I have failed three classes in my college career. Sure, that is something that is hard to admit. It is definitely something that is even harder to digest, but I did it. I did not pass these classes and I was not proud of it. Once I took the time and looked back and what I did wrong, I realized that I could do better. I am going back and retaking these classes and I am proud of myself. The pride in this comes from the fact that I am human enough to understand that I can correct my wrongs. Failings these classes does not mean I am a failure as a person, it just means that I didn't do my best.
Think of your hero, maybe it's your favorite filmmaker, your favorite, artists, your favorite computer programmer, or whoever, they have failed before. These people may be the most successful people in their career fields, but they didn't get there by being great at everything. For example, Steve Jobs failed. Remember the Lisa? Of course you do not. Lisa was a development issue that got Steve Jobs kicked out of the company he founded. When he realized that Lisa was going nowhere, he reinvented his idea and now Apple surrounds us all.
In order to succeed, we all must fail. We all must know what that heart-wrenching feeling is like. We must all be disappointed in ourselves at one point or another. If we don't, are we really human at all? So whether you had a small failure or you have failed big time, remember, you are on your way to being the most successful person you can be.
