All of us fell several times when we attempted to walk, the first time, but each time, we rose up and tried again. It hurts when a nine months old baby falls, but, walk they want to, and very soon they are running around, no longer on ‘four’. I dare you to embrace this never-say-die attitude. Try again where you failed the last time, this time, do it better. When you do it better, you’ll get a better result. If you fail again, try again, better than the previous time. Very soon, you’d become an expert in that area. That is the way to success.
“Again…!”, Ade screamed. Then he hurriedly pushed the CPU power button, held it for few seconds till the computer went off. His eyes reddish and damp, he got up and walk briskly towards the exit door of the cybercafe, ignoring everyone who had turned to stare in surprise. On getting to his room, Ade slammed the door behind himself, stayed indoor, and wept bitterly for days. “Why, why, why?”, Ade could not stop asking; “Why do I have to fail it again?”
Failing could be quite devastating, be it in academic endearvour or any other aspects of life. Not less than 75% of students fail qualification levels examination. It’s even worse among the low income earning families who could not afford good quality education. Most individuals would have at least, one definite experience of failure in life, I have failed many times as well. In fact, successful people are not those who never failed, but those who kept trying after failure until they succeed. Successful people have robust experience in failure. They know, that success in life depends largely on how we handle our failures. They know, failure though seems to be a temporary setback, it’s actually a set-up or an opportunity for a stronger come back. An expert in a field is the one who has experienced the highest number of failure, so he/she doesn’t just know how it may be done, he also knows how it may not be done. Success depends largely on how we handle failure, which means there are ways to and not to deal with failure, if one wants to end up in success. Following are the 7 steps to handle failure in educational endeavours.
- Cry If You May But Don’t Despair: If after you get an undesirable result, you feel like crying, it’s OK! Let it out! Just know that crying, though may help your emotional health, will not undo the result. Do not do anything that’s hurtful or that will jeopardize your health. I understand the sad situation because I have been there, but it’s only those who mourn with hope that live to encourage others as I am doing now. So, it does absolutely no good to stop eating, to stop sleeping, to sorrow for days, to isolate yourself, to injure someone, or to try to end it all. Have the courage to hope that, one way or the other, you’ll still make it. It is both your right and obligation to hope, so do it! Tomorrow will be better. I dare you, hope again!
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Take a Break If You May, But Not For Too Long: You may want to step back for a while to reflect on what has happened, it’s OK. Try to turn this to a positive retreat and not an endless rumination on why it has to be you that failed. Most times, isolation produces genius. If you feel like entering into your shell like a summer snail, do so with the mindset of coming out with a script, so, have your writing or recording materials with you. Trust me, it works. How it happens is, the part of your brain that’s responsible for producing ingenuity is being stimulated when you are in deep reflection. Don’t waste your grief!
Grief over failure could also dissipate when you take a break out of your normal routine. You write an exam and discovers, you fail, take a temporary break from studying. Do something else – dance, sport, design, act in a play, visit an orphanage, or what have you. This works like a reset or refresh system in you, and you’d come back to your normal routine with a feeling of newness.
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