Why do we fear failure? Why is the spectacle of a foregone opportunity deemed a bad thing? I have often treaded lightly to ensure that my actions coinincide with my outcome– thus, my work warrants a reward. But I’ve come to realize that effort and happiness are not mutually exclusive. As an eager young person I have scored my life by means of triumphs and accomplishments, rather than failures and mistakes. I honestly believe that I have taken the backwards approach.

I have learned more from missed opportunities and failed conquests than I have from my successes. It has taken some thought and reasoning to understand why, but my eyes have been opened. There is no success without failure and there is no triumph without mistakes. When you are able to fully open yourself up and go for something with unsubstantiated passion, you allow yourself to learn about yourself. For instance how you cope with failure, how you strategize your next move and your capacity to get up, dust yourself up, and rally for another go. The ability to get hit after you’ve been hit 100 times is an admirable trait because it is a testament to your drive to succeed. Unless you try and try multiple times, you don’t know what could or would have been.

I have seen close friends and colleagues give up because an issue is too tough, and I fully admit I have done the same. The problem lies within the fact that when you give up, you not only are giving up on a singular action but also on your ability to react and adapt. It is the eagerness that lives within a person that gives them the ability to strive for more; correcting previous mistakes and testing the limits of themselves. When we falter, we fail. But failure isn’t a bad thing. We must accept and embrace failure as it is one of life’s greatest and most valuable tools for learning.

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