One of the worst things to hear growing up was the word “fail.” Whenever I heard the word, “fail,” there was an immediate trembling. An immediate gasp of despair. It was something no one ever wished for. It still isn’t, but back then, to me, the concept of failure was a concept equated only to misery.
But then growing up, I failed so many times. So much that I was sure something was wrong. There were some wins and successes, but even those had a layer of failure coating them.
I remember thinking that there was something I was doing or something I was not doing that made this the case. From not getting into University with the rest of my peers, and staying back for so long because of one thing or the other.
I think if there’s anyone that can relate to failure, it would be me.
For a lot of reasons.
Just like more can be appreciated by someone who’s lived a life of less.
And true love appreciated by someone who’s experienced loss.
Success can only be appreciated by one who’s experienced failure.
The feeling of failure. The self resentment and loathing. The thought that you could have changed the outcome of things if you’d done this or that. The guilt weighing heavy on your insides.
They all make success the cherished soft landing it is.
Not just about the near impossibility of appreciating success if you haven't experienced failure, but how do you even attain success, and more than that, maintain it, if the echoes of your failure, or the failed experiences you had, don’t keep ringing in your head?
I think about notable people who experienced failure. People like Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Walt and Roy Oliver Disney, and all the others who failed so many times, and probably had people laugh in their faces each time, but they didn’t let that stop them from trying.
Because who said it’s anyone but you that can determine when you've failed? As far as you’ve not personally declared yourself or something you’re working on a failure, it only means you’re trying again, not giving up, and not that you’ve failed.
Failure paves the road to success because it embeds you with qualities that are necessary for character development and traits you need, so that when success of any form comes, you don’t take it for granted. You learn patience, empathy, humility, forbearance and determination.
So, my answer to the question posed by the Ladies of Hive Community...
“Do you consider failing to be less, equal, or more important than succeeding in life and why”
My answer is that failure is equal to success. Failure paves the way, and success is your reason to stay. To keep pushing. Sometimes failure doesn’t push you to be better, but when you succeed once, you get a glimpse of how good it can get, and that makes you want to get more of it.
The both play their roles in the lives of humans, and while failure is subjective, and not entirely the boogeyman it used to be to me, I, just like the majority of people on earth, would rather have success. And DID.
Images are mine.
