One of the teachers that I had during my grade school years (that completely seem eons ago) always reminded us that “failure leads to success.” I always thought that it didn’t make sense. How is me failing a test, leading to my own success? But now that I am older, about 10-12 years older, this could not be a more true statement. We always seem to praise our own successes, whether that is through exams, projects, a new good job, a healthy relationship, good family life and so on. But lately, I found that people are so quick to negate failures. Saying that oh they aren’t good enough for that job or aren’t going to do well on that exam, or a failed relationship that leads you to thinking love isn’t for you. As critical human beings, we need to realize that failures are often doors closing for a purpose.
1. Failures teach us hard work and perseverance.
When I failed organic chemistry the first time around, I was so down and thought: I am never going to pass this class. But the next time I took organic, I was confident enough about passing. I felt better about taking the exams and quizzes and found myself understanding the material and it made me want to work harder for a passing grade, and I lived to find success and learning in that second time around.
2. Failures teach us the value of our own boundaries.
Most of my romantic relationships always failed on me, we ended up breaking up for reasons that were kind of stupid and although I tried to work them out, they never worked out. Looking back on these relationships, I can truly say that I formed new boundaries for myself. It teaches you the things that you may not want but also solidifies the qualities you do want. Relationships are learning experiences, we aren’t always supposed to be with those people, but those people teach us something valuable about ourselves at the end of the day.
3. Failures are often new beginnings.
When a door closes in our face after the time and effort we put into getting to that door, we often feel completely defeated. Feeling like giving up is our best options and negatively critiquing ourselves. But often, these failures are the start of new beginnings. My mom always told me, when a door closes, another one opens. That’s how we should treat every failure, time and time again, as a new beginning to a new door and a new opportunity for success.
Failure is a hard topic. It’s a damaging topic at times because people do not want to talk about their own failures. But, remember, these failures lead to your overall success in your life. You may not see it now, but you will. Soon.