Unless they have a big achievement, numerous people are never satisfied. They always believe that they can achieve more, but this doesn’t always create a positive mindset. People are constantly pressuring themselves, believing that “I could do better,” or perhaps “this isn’t enough”. Sometimes the consistent pressure of trying to improve themselves may overwhelm them, influencing their mindset until it becomes corrupted and delicate like glass.
It’s alright to be imperfect, despite the words of others. You may never be smart—but what does it mean to be intelligent? You may never be strong enough, but what is strength? You would never be perfect—but what does perfect even mean?
There’s a book I read in 4th grade called, “The Girl that Never Made Mistakes,” by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein. I found this book at a Hearing class. The moral of the story was that everyone makes mistakes, even the people that may seem perfect.
Surgeons have failed to save a patient at least once. Before, soldiers have been unsuccessful in saving their fallen comrades, becoming veterans of war while their brethren died on the battlefield. Students have failed tests before. They may have wanted a 100% but received a 98%. 98% is almost a 100%, but you didn't get a full score. Thus, you are a failure—at least by your perspective of things.
People are capable of failure, their perspective of things having been molded from their environment/surroundings. This is usually because of a combination of social expectations, social norms, personal beliefs built during childhood, comparisons between oneself and another person, social interactions, etcetera. Environmental factors of your life could affect you psychologically, shaping you as if you’re a clump of clay, moldable but resilient (towards your beliefs). Research has demonstrated that your environment has an effect in shaping your beliefs, values, behaviors, and overall worldview, influencing how you perceive the world, interact with others, and manage stress. Moreover, your environment can influence your relationships, cultural dedication, general emotions, and level of self-confidence. If someone was nurtured in a positive and supportive environment, high-esteem could be fostered. However, if someone was raised in a neglectful and negative environment, they would, in most probability, grow up to have low self-esteem.
Nonetheless, it's possible to change your perspective of things, redirecting your mindset and changing your perspective of things into something positive. Failure isn’t permanent. It never is if you don’t give in to your mistakes, refusing to be overwhelmed by your failures and focusing on improving yourself and changing your failure into success.
It’s of great importance that when encountered with failure, you should…
Analyze the Situation
Look thoroughly into the situation and your failure either with the assistance of others or by yourself if you aren’t comfortable with sharing your situation with others. Analyze and highlight your mistakes, look thoroughly into what you’re analyzing, and find the complete truth in this situation. Failures happen anywhere at any time, whether in your personal life or your business/social life.
As demonstrated by Henry Ford’s lesson, “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing,” which conveys that failure is alright, as long as you don't make the same mistakes again. Business industries won’t always make a profit from their sales. However, it’s better to analyze and highlight your mistakes in order to improve after your failure, rather than avoiding to recollect or continuously be pushed down by your failure. Keep in mind that even the most experienced of entrepreneurs have experienced failure, but instead of being consumed whole by it, they focused on improving themselves.
Don’t Be Overwhelmed
Either because of yours or others' opinions, there is always going to be something wrong in life, meaning that you shouldn’t overthink and shouldn’t thoroughly listen to the opinions of others, especially if their opinions are negatively affecting you. Take their words with a grain of salt, don’t entirely believe them, only focus on what’s positive, know how you can learn and improve (sometimes even what’s negative could be turned into something positive: “You don’t work hard, you need to try better next time”) .Don’t be overwhelmed by your failures. Every failure has a purpose in your life. Each one is a lesson and a worthwhile experience for learning.
Perhaps there are voices in your mind whispering your failures, encompassing you with negative thoughts while you listen—but you shouldn’t listen to them, observe but don’t hear, or else your mistakes will reoccur and consume your consciousness, enveloping you with your failures like a blanket would—except that blanket is thin and tattered, unable to withstand the cold.
Strategize and Persist in Trying
Whether you’re suffering from failing a national-tournament or have failed academically, it shouldn’t be a chance to surrender and withdraw in these conditions, but instead it should be a chance to strategize and improve yourself for the purpose of trying again. People should strive, not despair when something doesn’t go their way, and they should continue to improve themselves even after achieving their goals.
Every time you try, you will always improve whether largely or only slightly, and although your progress might not be visible at once, progress is built like blocks, either slightly or vastly, your experience and understanding of what to do next after your tower topples can make a tremendous difference for your next tower.
For instance, as Thomas Edison illustrates, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Therefore, it is alright to fail, meaning that you shouldn’t be afraid when failure comes to you. After all, failure is a part of the road to success. Failure is suspended success until the right moment, but in the meantime, you must work hard, think hard, and be consistent.
