What is failure? It is when your objectives are not met in some way. It is a timely topic now that senior students are receiving their yearly test results and some will invariably find a misalignment between expectations and reality. However, failure is much more than that. It is the main driver of change and improvement and the stepping stone to success. It all depends how failure is perceived and used. True failure is the inability to use failure as a motivator. Success is about learning how to recognise why you failed, and how you’re going to account for it. In other words: it is what failure spurs you to do that is important. You can feel sorry for yourself, take it to heart personally and think of yourself as a lesser person. Or you can analyse failure and take steps to improve the situation. Do not see failure as “I am stupid/useless/incapable/weak”. See failure as “I am a step closer to success”.
Ask yourself these questions:
? What brought about the failure? (Did I study enough? Was something happening in my life at the time? Did I understand the work?)
? How much of it is realistically up to me to change?
? What can I do every day to ensure that my next attempt is more successful?
Then set in place some changes that will help you overcome your issues (for example, arrange a study schedule or organise some one-on-one revision sessions with your teachers or find more quiet time at home).
Success, as pleasant and exciting as it is, has never spurred anyone to carry out radical changes and dramatically improve their outcome. Success can also become a negative factor when it slides into arrogance and complacency. See failure as the natural outcome of trying, let it build your character and change your outlook. Now!
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