In 2008, JK Rowling stood in front of the graduating class of Harvard University and gave a speech to some of the brightest young adults of their generation on the benefits of failing. She recounted her life and how her failures had paved the way for her success. JK Rowling, inspiring so many with the entire world of Harry Potter she has created, continues to inspire us as a person and citizen of the world. Her speech is the inspiration for this article on how to succeed in failing.
Failing is a tricky concept to wrap our heads around. As our world advances on all fronts, failure becomes more and more of a taboo topic. Especially in America, success is spoon fed to us since birth and expected from all of us. As our society moves forward, our definition of failure has changed as well. It is now becoming more difficult to succeed, depending on your thought process. However, if you are in the right mindset, use your own failures correctly, and continue to learn, failing can be a life projecting act.
Learn what it means to fail
You learned it in kindergarten. Everyone is different, everyone is unique, based on their own scale, not by the accounts of anyone else but themselves. If everyone is different, why should failing be the same? If you feel as if you have failed, or you are failing, take time to analyze if this idea of failing is your idea of failure. Too often, we are told what failing means from other people. Failure doesn't mean not graduating from college, not getting a high paid job, not having a spouse and kids unless it means that for you. The funny thing about failure is that it is an image of our own creation. We set our goals and limits, and we create our failures and what it means to fail. Therefore, you cannot fail unless you decide to do so.
Embrace the failures
Failing is not a damning thing. It is also not the end of the world. Even if you have failed by your own definition, that is nothing to beat yourself over. People work so hard to keep themselves from failing, when it is just a force of nature. People make mistakes and they mess up. IT IS OK! If you come across failure, greet it with open arms, learn all you can from it, and send it one it's way.
Find success in failing
Everyone is taught to learn from their mistakes. Mistakes are easy, the learning that comes from it is the tricky part. Failure is no different. So, you have failed in something. A bad grade in a class, a poorly made shelf, a rejected audition. Whatever it is, there is always something to learn. That is how you succeed in failing. You find the things you did, the morsels of bad decisions, whatever happened that led you to failing, and you correct them. Change those things. Maybe it is studying harder, or going for a walk everyday. Maybe it is as small as smiling more often or setting more than one alarm. Find how to turn your failures into success, and you will find how to succeed in failing.
"... and so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." - JK Rowling
Watch the full commencement address here.
