Failure to Success

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”-John F. Kennedy

Does failure bother you? Does it seem like you fail at a lot of things? My own failures bother me, and I do tend to fail a lot in many things. Failure is something I know all too well and one of the things I am afraid of. If I wasn’t so afraid of failing and disappointing people, I would have finished college a LOT sooner and be in a different place in my life. I took breaks from college a few times when I didn’t do well. Later on, I realized it had a lot to do with finding myself and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life along with lack of motivation. I gave up a LOT in my younger years. That in its own is failure.

People give up. People give up on what they are trying to achieve. Most importantly they give up on themselves. Have you ever tried something new and didn’t give up? What was the result? Did you fail? Or did you succeed in achieving the outcome you were hoping for?

Many times, when you don’t give up you still fail. But the important thing is what you have learned on that journey. Failure isn’t something where you can give up in the progress to your goal. It just means the way you were doing it wasn’t working and to try something different. You are experimenting to see what works. For me school was something I had to try over and over again to figure out what I wanted to get a degree in and what I wanted to do with my furture. I tried music education: failed. I tried early childhood education: failed. I tried business: success. I found something I liked and was good at it. I changed my major several times since I graduated high school and started college. As I was getting my business degree, I failed a few of the topics that were taught. Specifically? Mathematics and Accounting are two of the things I struggle with. But with hard work and my mind focused on the outcome. I was able to work through my failure to understand math to be successful in getting my associates in business. Because I was successful in getting a degree, I felt accomplished. I felt motivated to go on with my education.

Many times, as I failed throughout college, whether it was a test or the class. I could have just dropped out of college and never looked back. I could have given up and be stuck in a career hole or stuck in a rut. What good would that do? I kept trying. I fell down and I got right back up and started again. A way I was studying before wasn’t working so I tried a different way. I gained more confidence as I passed more tests and passed the classes. The more time I focused on what I was doing right and fixing what I was doing wrong and asking questions the more I succeeded. Quitting and giving up because you did something wrong the first time doesn’t help you learn and grow. It brings you down. It keeps you in a place of darkness. It doesn’t help you go to the next chapter of your story.

Don’t think of failure as a bad thing. Think of it as a learning opportunity. Without failure how will we learn? Without failure how will we grow? Without failure how will we be able to find who we are? I am still finding who I am. But I’m not afraid to fail any more. What others think of me doesn’t matter to me anymore. Ok, it does a little. It doesn’t bother me AS MUCH like it used to. With each thing we learn about ourselves the more confidence we gain. The more confidence you have in yourself the more success you will have in the things you do. Don’t think of failure as an excuse to give up. Try a different way. Try. Try. Try again. Failure only helps you grow. It’s not a bad thing. Just a lesson learned.