Is Failure Real?
Well not until you make it!
Being a part of the School Debating Team was one of my favorite things in school. Getting to mock-debate every day, going to different competitions, and winning them, gave me this ultimate satisfaction that was quite unmatched. But as much as I loved being on the stage, the butterflies in the stomach before entering the stage were inevitable.
One of the best parts about the competitions was the preparation sessions with our Debating Teacher. I vividly remember, how every time, before we went for a competition he would make us sit together and meditate. (Yep that’s correct!)
He would tell all of us to close our eyes and focus on this voice, while he more or less said this:
‘Stay calm, you know you worked hard and prepared for this and you’re going to give your best! Focus on giving your best, not on the result. Because you’ll either win or learn.’
And he often stressed a lot on the last line, you’ll either win or learn.
Now, you do get to learn when you win too, but the essence of this phrase lies in the positive outlook it provides you with.
We won many competitions, and we also lost a few, but seeing it as an opportunity to learn and get more experience was what kept me going.
Life is like a stage too, just bigger and the butterflies in your stomach can be enormous sometimes! But knowing that every opportunity you get is going to be a wonderful learning experience, and make you better in some or the other, will change your perspective towards life. It definitely did change mine!
Many times we do not do something just because of the fear of failure, but trust me, it is worse to not even try, because in the back of your head you’ll always think about the ‘What if?’ factor, about how the opportunity could have sent you on a different path altogether.
Sure, aim at winning and work harder than the last time, but remember that there will always be something positive in every experience in life, irrespective of whether you win or not. And when you’re getting to learn, you aren’t technically failing, right? (Spoiler alert: you aren’t!) :)
