"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor."
-Truman Capote
No one wants to fail at anything, but failure is an experience that everyone has at some point. The only way to avoid failure in life is to never attempt anything at all, and that really is not living. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, so why is failure such a terrifying outcome when it is a reality for all of us?
We are trained from childhood that failing is the worst thing that could happen to us. Psychology studies have shown that toddlers who fail to potty train at a quick enough rate have self esteem issues for the rest of their lives. We are told from the moment we enter school that we cannot fail any classes, and then we feel humiliated when we fail tests. We live in a hypocritical society where we are not allowed to fail, and we have to deal with this looming pressure to succeed every day. I honestly do not know of a safe place where people can fail at something without feeling dejected and embarrassed.
Even within our families (the place we are supposed to feel the safest) we are not permitted to fail. If I were to fail to give my mom an insurance payment on time, or fail a class, or fail to come home at a reasonable time, I would have to deal with the consequences.
We are told from childhood by our families that we can be whatever we want when we grow up. Well, what if the little girl who wants to be a ballerina has two left feet? Or when the boy who wants to be a police officer fails his field test? We are being set up for failure from day one. These failures, big or small, can make our self confidence crumble. Sure, if you work extremely hard and practice very deliberately there is always a possibility that you will succeed, but no one is successful 100% of the time. That is completely unrealistic.
Failing is a part of life that everyone has to except. It is never fun, but as J.K. Rowling said in her speech to the 2008 Harvard graduates in regards to her own personal failures, "I was set free because my greatest fears had been realized, and I was still alive...And so rock bottom became the foundation on which I rebuilt my life." This is the attitude that everyone should take toward failure. Use it as a learning experience and an opportunity to change your perspective. If something in your life is hurting you or just not working out like you had imagined, remove yourself from it and set new goals. You are meant to do something; sometimes it just takes a while to figure out what that something is.
We are told from childhood by our families that we can be whatever we want when we grow up. Well, what if the little girl who wants to be a ballerina has two left feet? Or when the boy who wants to be a police officer fails his field test? We are being set up for failure from day one. These failures, big or small, can make our self confidence crumble. Sure, if you work extremely hard and practice very deliberately there is always a possibility that you will succeed, but no one is successful 100% of the time. That is completely unrealistic.
Failing is a part of life that everyone has to except. It is never fun, but as J.K. Rowling said in her speech to the 2008 Harvard graduates in regards to her own personal failures, "I was set free because my greatest fears had been realized, and I was still alive...And so rock bottom became the foundation on which I rebuilt my life." This is the attitude that everyone should take toward failure. Use it as a learning experience and an opportunity to change your perspective. If something in your life is hurting you or just not working out like you had imagined, remove yourself from it and set new goals. You are meant to do something; sometimes it just takes a while to figure out what that something is.
No comments:
Post a Comment