Let me start out honest, I have failed a lot in my life. Whether it be in on an exam, in my relationships with people, or with sticking to a goal, I have failed many, many times. And that's okay. I feel like there is such a stigma surrounding failure and people will tend to just ignore it and brush it off as a terrible thing. But why are we, as humans, so afraid to fail? Just because we fail at something, does not make us a failure. It took me a long time in order to be okay with my failure, but in the process, I was able to learn more about myself and why I really shouldn't be afraid to fail.
1. Failure means that you did something.
Doing something is better than nothing. You can go through life being afraid to fail and never do anything, or you can accept that you may fail (or you may not) and do whatever it is you want to do. Even if you fail at something, you tried, you did something. And compared to those who just gave up or didn't try at all, aren't they the ones who truly failed?
2. Failing does not make you a failure.
Repeat that about five times. Failing does not make you a failure. Your failures do not define you. I had a hard time accepting this. I think that we tend to take things personally, and so when we do fail at something, we have a hard time separating our failure from what actually defines us. But just because you failed or have failed in the past absolutely does not make you a failure, rise up and understand that your failure will never define you if you don't let it.
3. Failure will lead to success.
Accepting failure will lead to success. All failure does is show you a way something doesn't work. You learn from failure other ways to do things, you learn the different strengths and weaknesses you have, never let one failure get to you and knock you down. Learn from it, and it will lead to your future success.
4. Failing will make you a better person.
If there is one thing that I have learned from failing throughout my life, it's that I am a lot stronger than I used to think I am. It does not make you weak as I once thought, it is those times of darkness when we fail that prove just how better of a person you can become. Getting back up on your feet after those moments goes to show just how strong we can be after failure, we have the strength to keep going.
We're taught in society that it is such a terrible thing to fail, and there is always a negative connotation and stigma surrounding it. Help break the stigma. Don't be afraid to fail, learn from your failure, and embrace your failure.
