Diamonds are made under pressure, but the pressure lasts for a good amount of time before anything is produced. How sad is it to have to always be great? Why isn't being as great as you CAN be supported and celebrated? I feel we are pushed to our limits. Everything we do is scrutinized to the point where we don't feel confident even in the things we excel in. If everything is not right or perfected, the greatness we supposedly inherit when we were born is not real. Failure becomes a burden and not a lesson when we're taught this ideology from a young age. When we fail, we literally make ourselves sick because we fear the consequences. We fear that the people who have been pushing us for so long will be ashamed of what we've done, and sometimes we don't think they'll accept our efforts in trying again. Failure was meant to teach us how we can be better. The term seems to have a negative connotation, but it needs to be looked at with love and acceptance.
People don't always start out amazing. To be completely honest, I don't know very many people who have, and if they tell you that they have... they're not telling the truth. I'm not sure who began the "I was born great" thing, but those words are so dangerous. Those words get ingrained in the head of a little boy who's father is making him play basketball when he really wants to sit around and read. Those words get ingrained in the head of a young girl who's mother is forcing her to take a bow, when pushing the ball around the field is what she loves. Those words hurt and cut through confidence and potential success. You can't control what abilities you have, you can only work for them. Don't let anyone tell you that you are less than because you've failed. Don't let the "being born great" complex burden your heart and your mind. A single failure can either make you work harder, or hinder you. A single failure can be the sweetest and most rewarding victory one can encounter.
Failure is in fact an option. It's a difficult thing to learn, but life allows us to make mistakes. We wouldn't be given as much time in our days if there wasn't room for it. Use your failure as a stepping stone to success.
