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“Recognize that you will spend much of your life making mistakes. If you can take action and keep making mistakes, you gain experience.” John Maxwell, Failing Forward
Sometimes failing is the only way to move forward.
My most recent bout with failure happened as I was sitting for my Cybersecurity exams last year.
I was so confident since I had earlier passed a similar security exam which I thought prepared me to pass this one.
I assumed it would be a cake walk and prepared to celebrate at the end of the test confident of a pass, but sadly found out I failed.
Just like that, $600 in exam fees and 3 months of preparation, down the drain.
I regrouped, spent the money and effort a second time the next month; and once again failed.
I was devastated. It messed with my mind for two weeks. I hadn’t felt so discouraged for a long time before that and it really hurt big time.
So after a couple more of days of moping, I collected myself; humbly accepted my failures, and determined to pass on my third try.
I eventually passed on my third try and can’t even describe in words the relief it brought, how encouraged and happy my whole family was.
In the midst of going through all these, here are three insights I learned about failure that changed my life’s perspective;
PREPARATION DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN SUCCESS
It’s good to always be prepared and have a vigilant attitude but despite all that, no one is ever assured of success. However prepared we think we might be, life and its challenges will sometimes have the better of us.
The past few fails made me realize that there’s a bigger perspective to be gained while going through adversity.
As I was going through my tests, I consciously had to make a decision to stay positive, trust in the work I had put in, believe that I would overcome, and trust in God who is always there to help.
My attitude in the midst of the challenge is what helped mold my character.
I had to take a step back, acknowledge that it’s not always going to go my way, learned to accept failure, not get negative and discouraged, and have a humble and persistent attitude.
Once I got the pass I was aiming for, it not only made me feel awesome but also prepared me for the coming fails that will happen in my future.
SELF-CONFIDENCE IS GOOD BUT IT CAN ALSO BE A STUMBLING BLOCK
I’m a lifelong learner and sometimes take pride in the titles I’ve collected through the years. So much so that I didn’t even realize that I was slowly growing arrogant, prideful and selfish.
It led me to be too self-reliant and biased that I grew cynical and negative towards other people and points of view.
When I realized how arrogant I became, I had to finally submit and let God humble me and flush all the junk out of me.
Even though it felt horrible as I was going through it, on the other hand, it was like a burden being lifted off me at the same time.
I was finally emptied of all my junk that It physically, mentally and spiritually felt so good. And it never would have happened if it wasn’t for the lesson that failure brought.
BE GRATEFUL, STAY POSITIVE, AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD
I learned during this time that In the midst of hardships, having the right attitude will play a big part on how I was going to journey out of my “temporary” situation.
I assumed that by failing, that I too was a failure.
Although it looked really dire at that moment and a pity party was in order; I had to consciously make the effort to encourage myself and think that it wasn’t the end, and being in that situation was not my final destiny.
I learned to be grateful for my adversity because if I hadn’t gone through what I did, I wouldn’t have changed my perspective and would’ve still be stuck in my egotistical ways.
I also chose to stay positive in the midst of negative voices within telling me I’ll never pass, never advance in my career, never amount to anything. I put all those aside and kept moving forward. Putting in the work by tapping into God’s wisdom this time and making the most of the chances He was giving me for redemption.
It was really refreshing, with God’s help, to be able to rise up against the negativity of the situation and have a fresh outlook.
IN CONCLUSION
I believe that in future challenges, if we respond in a reflective manner, having a positive mindset, we can approach and embrace what seem to be setbacks and view them as eventual setups for bigger and better things ahead.
Were you recently in a bad situation? How did you overcome? Do you have other stories that can uplift and encourage all of us? Please drop us a line, leave a comment or email at thedebtfreejourney@gmail.com.
Peace and Blessings to you all.
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