26A- Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

I think that one of my biggest failures this semester comes from my approach to college and the attempt I made to actually learn something here. While it seems like common sense that you would come to college and focus on your education, I tended to have a focus this semester on trying to cultivate a tight circle of friends and ultimately learn how to have a new life on my own away from my home state of Virginia! 

As I put more pressure on building the social atmosphere I wanted, I began to see a slip in my academics, finances, and my overall drive that I once had to be the best! I ended up building myself some pretty bad habits over the semester including missing assignments, skipping class, spending money I didn't really have, failing classes, losing my sleep schedule, etc. Nothing really good came from this semester except for the group of friends that I spent all my time cultivating! 

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I came to a realization after stepping away from campus over break that I really need to get my priorities straight. I forget that each class I take is costing my dear parents thousands of dollars in out of state tuition and my effort towards these courses isn't my best effort. I have learned that I need to be able to find a balance in fun social activities and my studies and be able to be more adaptive on the fly. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

I think that failure is just a part of life. As cliche as it sounds, some things just need to be learned the hard way. There are some lessons that no matter how many times people tell you about them or warn you of the troubles ahead, you just have to experience yourself. 

Understanding consequences, goals, and more importantly how to pick yourself back up after you've fallen short of your expectations are lessons and skills that you have to develop for yourself. No one studies the same or motivates themselves in identical formats, you just have to develop these life skills for yourself. 

I think that this class has taught me that having the tenacity and perseverance to look at a loss or a failure as a lesson and walk away from it as a stronger individual is one of the key skills for having success. Whether your success is defined by financial standings or simply your own state of being, having that ability to compound life lessons, adapt yourself to the person you want to be, and most importantly understand your weaknesses and how to strengthen them are critical to your success. 

No entrepreneur will truthfully tell you that they haven't experienced failure and I think that's just part of the job. Entrepreneurs are the best example of everything previously listed. Being able to learn and adapt to different situations is what defines an average entrepreneur and someone like Elon Musk!