Dealing with Failure
“No human ever became interesting by not failing. The
more you fail and recover and improve, the better you are as a person. Ever met
someone who’s always had everything work out for them with zero struggle? They
usually have the depth of a puddle. Or they don’t exist.” - Chris Hardwick
I’m enthusiastic. I love to be associated with success. I
like to meet expectations. I just didn’t know if I could stand failing. I was
afraid.
I prayed and studied and kept hoping every day. I told myself
that I had to pass all five of my exams. I felt that was it. Probably if I
cleared them all in one sitting, I’d be more satisfied and approved of.
Well, I failed one and it hit me.
It hurt a lot and I felt like giving up.
When I got home, I cried about it but my parents tried to cheer me up. My
brother wanted us to celebrate. My friends were congratulating me. Honestly, at
that point, I felt they were all crazy or something…
In the healing process, I became grateful. I actually passed
four out of five and they were really tough. I also began to reflect on the
times that I failed and fought back to get on top of my game.
Never dwell on your
failures. It’s difficult to create momentum when you’re stuck in
the past. The fact that you failed at something doesn’t define you. It simply
means that you’re learning. Also, never compare.
Let go of the need
to get other people’s approval. Most of my fears were actually
driven by that. It’s great to be admired but beyond that, it’s just low self-esteem.
Call a spade a spade. Learn from your failures and get to the root of it. Ask
important questions like ‘Why did I fail?’ not ‘What if?’ Obsessing over it
won’t change the result. Keep showing up every day. Keep at it. You’re well on
your way to success.
This time around I’m going to face my fears, register for
that exam and study hard. I hope I make it this time.
"If they fall, they will not stay down, because
the LORD will help them up." (Psalm 37:24, GNT)
Hello funmi it's frankie. Can you please send me a message on WhatsApp - 08027410690
ReplyDeleteThank you Funmi for sharing. Reading this really uplifted my heart. God is always here to help us up when we fail. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we learn.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad! You're welcome.
DeleteUpdate: I actually passed the one that I had to rewrite.
ReplyDelete