College is fun, but it can also be a time when the first sting of failure is felt. Maybe it is walking into a final that is worth half of the semester grade, only to blank out, or maybe it is going all out for an exec position only to not get it. I personally have failed too many times to count but, it’s all okay because failing isn’t everything. While it may seem like the worst at the moment, in the grand scheme of things it’s not. As disappointing as those things are, big dreams and hopes won’t be destroyed by failure, and here’s why.
Nobody wants to fail. When you work all day and all night and it still doesn’t work out, it may seem like your efforts were a complete waste. But the truth is, they weren’t. Coming from myself, I tend to put the biggest push onto myself to not fail but sometimes it’s inevitable and it’s okay. As cliche as it sounds, failing is a learning experience. It’s part of being a human. And while at the moment it may seem like the end of the world, in the grand scheme of things, it’s only a tiny moment in your life, and you’ll be better for it. I know, it’s hard to accept failure. One thing to keep in mind is that you need to own your mistakes. As human beings, we are destined to make mistakes for the rest of our lives, and this is not a bad thing. Mistakes and failures enable us to understand what went wrong and what we need to do better. If we never made mistakes, we’d never learn or grow.
All my life I thought I had to be perfect. Be the perfect child, get perfect grades, and be perfect in clubs or organizations. This caused a lot of stress and pressure that I didn’t know how to handle. It led to a decline in my self-confidence, and I started being less vocal and outgoing. I stopped participating in class out of fear that I would be wrong. It was not until recently that I truly accepted the fact that you do not have to be perfect. You just have to be you. Our whole lives we have heard people say that nobody’s perfect, but sometimes it feels as if some people are pretty close. We all know that person who seemed like they could do no wrong. It could have been a classmate, teammate, friend, or even sibling. The truth is, they have their flaws just like everyone else. Comparing yourself to others can lead you to forget what makes you, you. Everyone has different strengths and differences. That is what makes us all so special.
We can learn from failure
Even the best have room for improvement and most individuals learn life lessons from failure. Failure causes one to pause, take a step back, and reflect on where they want to go next and how to get there. After failing, ask not only the question of “what did I do wrong?” but also the question of “what do I have to do to do it right?”. We have to improve in order to survive and failure can be the means by which we learn how to grow.
Failure Allows for Strength
Some people fail and then give up on everything they have ever wanted. In order to fail correctly, one must get up after falling, be stronger and try again. Failure makes you want to achieve your goals more and it makes you fight harder to conquer them.
Failure Makes Success Sweeter
Succeeding on the first try is too easy to be fulfilling. Imagine becoming number one after putting in your own effort, filled with sweat and hard work, to get there. Failure is an opportunity to come back and hit the game stronger than before. Failure can be okay because we can learn from it and it makes us stronger. It makes us less scared and in the end, our success is more rewarding.
The most important thing is that you never give up on your goals. Goals are not supposed to be easy to achieve. The idea of giving up may be tempting, especially if you’ve tried so many times and it still hasn’t happened for you. But with each trial and error, you are becoming so much wiser. And who knows? You may only be one more try away from finally getting what you’ve worked hard for. Think of failure as a friend or mentor. Sometimes, even when you try your best, failure might still come around, but it will show you where you fell short and where you need to go from here. It’ll be back again someday, and it will bring more knowledge with it. Easier said than done, but don’t be afraid to fail, or you’ll never find yourself in triumph.