Failure, the sign-post to success!

«Success does not mean that one will not stumble or fall. It means
that after every fall, there is a new determination to get up, and
keep climbing.»  (Webb B. Garrison)
Each year the SC and HSC results bring in their wake their share
of joy and sorrow. There are tears of joy for those who have succeeded
and tears of bitterness and disappointment for those who have fared
badly in their examinations, and consequently have failed. Those who
have succeeded are in seventh heaven and those who have come a cropper
are in the abyss of despair. Some are so prostrated with despair that
they feel like giving up everything and accept their failure with
resignation. To those who have been frustrated in their attempts, I am
going to give them a heartening piece of advice how to treat their
failure. So put your frustration and despair at the back of your mind
and listen:
No one is infallible. Anyone is liable to make mistake and fall a
prey to deception. There is no better guide to success than the lesson
taught by our mistakes. However, many students and other persons react
negatively to failure and accept it as final to their attempts. They
refuse to treat failure as something beneficial and very often they
fail to learn the lesson which crops up from it. We have just to see a
baby learning to walk to grasp the fact that we are not immune from
failure. The baby learns to walk by trial and error until it succeeds.
So most learning is done in this way.
Anyone who claims never to have made a mistake is either fooling
himself or is being deliberately dishonest. Making mistake is
universally a part of human experience. But the fact that we make
mistakes is less important than our attitude towards them. We must not
shrug our shoulders when making mistakes and adopt an indifferent
attitude to them. If we have a sense of responsibility, we must be
moved by the fact that we have made mistakes. Or else the continual
habits of making mistakes will become chronic and will certainly mar
our reputation and image in the eyes of others. Making mistakes should
disturb us and lead us to some positive and remedial action.
A Blessing In Disguise
Failure is simply a part of the learning process. It should be
regarded as an opportunity to improve. It should be welcomed rather
than resented because it brings the chance to learn. Failure shows us
where our mistakes lie. It is similar to a sign-post showing us which
direction we have to take to reach our destination we have failed
because we have taken the wrong direction. So we must step back and
take the right way. It also shows us what we have not done and what we
have not prepared. It points out to us our weaknesses― what we do not
know and what we need to know about ourselves. All eminent persons
have experienced failure in one way or another before reaching the
pinnacle of fame. Therefore we are no exception.
Failure should be taken for granted like bad weather. We should
take a more positive and sensible attitude towards failure and try to
learn from it how to avoid the blunders which have spelt our downfall.
We should regard it as an incentive to try something creative and
constructive for the next attempt. Because if we let our minds dwell
upon past failures, they will no doubt rob us of our confidence and
sap our determination and enthusiasm to forge ahead to achieve our
aims. Therefore we must banish such ideas from our minds and start
afresh. For if we treat our failure constructively and positively, we
shall not take long to find out that FAILURE is a blessing in
disguise.