Whether it was in elementary school, middle school, high school, or college, you have probably heard the phrase, “You have so much to learn.” This is often delivered with a negative connotation and can make individuals on the receiving end feel belittled and ignorant. I have always leaned towards perfectionism and given in to my pride, telling myself that I should be flawless at everything I do. However, part of growing up is understanding that you do not know everything, and this should be celebrated. Life would be incredibly boring if you woke up each day and already knew everything. We would be unable to learn, grow, and change if we already knew everything. So how do you learn to accept failure, embrace the lessons it can teach you, and learn from these experiences?
Maybe you recently walked into a test and hoped you studied hard enough, only to feel completely lost and then receive a poor grade. Or maybe you were playing a sport and did not perform to your highest ability. Whatever it is, humans are guaranteed to experience failure and experience it frequently. When we are not able to do our best, whether that be in school, a sport, or at work, it can feel devastating and embarrassing, making you question if you are in the right field. After experiencing a failure, it is easy to mentally shut down and tell yourself you do not deserve to hold that position if you cannot always succeed, but you cannot succeed without first experiencing failure. Former United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
In the past few months, I have encountered many experiences where I realized just how much I have to learn. At first, this realization was uncomfortable and unknown, but I learned to embrace this feeling. I have tried to seek out more experiences where I have little to no skill in the activities I am participating in, becoming more comfortable with being a beginner and being bad at things. While it can be difficult to accept that you are a beginner, it will set you up for success and growth much more than only participating in activities where you have already developed skills.
Whether you are trying a new skill or attempting to progress in a current skill, it is necessary to take risks. You can never be perfect, but you can learn from your mistakes and develop an incredible amount of growth. You do have so much to learn. And that is such a wonderful thing. When practicing a skill, the growth you develop is often found more in the trial and error that you experience than the success you achieve. Furthermore, the joy that comes with success is greater because of the failures you worked through. People may tell you discouraging things when you fail or make you feel embarrassed for not being perfect. They may even offer a negatively connotated, “You have so much to learn.” Even when this happens, you can lean into the process of learning and embracing your failures. You were never meant to know it all, and it is so exciting to have so much to learn.