Be Thankful For Your "Failures"

The older we become, the more likely we are to scan back over the years and look at what we achieved or didn't achieve in our lives. Sometimes, we focus on the failures and what we didn't do rather than what we did accomplish.

Success or failure is a subjective perception. You may believe that a world leader is a success because he achieved the pinnacle of leadership. Another person may feel that the same leader has failed because he or she didn't implement the policies they set out to achieve.

Appreciate that success and failure often co-exist; without one, you usually don't have the other. Thomas Edison, the American inventor, failed hundreds of times to create the first light bulb before succeeding. Similarly, Henry Ford had several failed businesses before he prospered with the Ford Motor Company.

I look back at my own life and can see where I came up short and didn't fulfil what I was capable of, and yet, those events gave me the impetus to learn and grow and overcome my perceived "failures". Here are a few of them:

My High School Years In Canada

In high school, I was not a good student. In fact, my grades were below average. Generally, I wouldn't say I liked school; I avoided studying when I could and spent too much time thinking about girls and playing pool. Year 12 was a disaster for me, and I failed that year. During the summer break, my parents took me to see a psychologist who performed two days of aptitude and I.Q. tests. Ultimately, the clinician sat my parents and me down and explained that university was out of the question for me and that I would be fortunate to pass year 12 on the second try.

Those words were a wake-up call. I was determined to prove the psychologist wrong. I persevered and passed the year on the second try and managed to pass year 13––at the time, compulsory to enter university––with a high enough average to be accepted into university. My grades steadily increased because I loved the course. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree and then entered chiropractic college, where I excelled, graduating with honours.

This experience taught me that one of the pillars of success is persistence. When you get down, pick yourself up with determination and "refuse to lose".