“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
If you want to experience success in any area of your life, you will have to experience failure as well. It’s inevitable that all people will make mistakes in their life and these mistakes can be or can lead to moments of failure. Most people fear failure before it happens to them and then regret it after it’s done. However, regretting failure will not help you succeed. It is learning from your mistakes and taking lessons from your failures that will help push you toward success.
I thought it might be fun to share some of my own personal success stories and also my epic failures to help guide you while you’re experiencing your own. I chose a select few of each for your reading pleasure. 😉
Successes
1. In college, I created a FaceBook page to protest the merger of my college with another. The merger was supposed to increase tuition and change the atmosphere and procedures of a school that I loved too much to lose. I raised awareness through social media, met lots of fellow students who felt the same way, and got recognized by local newspapers who featured me in articles. The college also asked me to speak in front of the State Legislature for their cause and I did so with pride. It was nerve wracking and stressful, but so worth it because the merger was denied. Sometimes, you need to open your mouth to create and inspire change.
2. When I was in middle school, I partnered up with a kid that everybody made fun of for a special project because I felt bad for him. All the other kids were having fun and working together, but we were kind of shunned because he wasn’t ‘cool’ enough. Yet, I didn’t really care. Sure, I wanted to go have fun too, but I wasn’t going to be mean to the poor kid either. The teacher saw this and gave me a little gift and told me I was a wonderful person. I never forgot that moment and the other kid probably never did either. Most people might not consider this a success, but I do because it’s a constant reminder to always show empathy and kindness toward others. If I could display that kindness at such a young age and risk social shunning, I can do it now as an adult and preserve integrity.
3. I have a really creative mind, but my job is in an office and is more analytic, legal, and customer service oriented. I used to feel like my creativity was going to waste. Instead of abandoning all creative thought, which is something I thrive on, I decided to bring some creativity into the office to make things run smoother (and to make it more fun for me!). I got a white board calendar and starting keeping track of appointments and important dates of my boss on these, all color coded and organized (my inner OCD loved it). I also reorganized all the computer files, started putting our expertise on social media and began to incorporate my creative writing skills into my every day tasks and emails. Clients love it that I word things in a legal, yet totally understandable and creative way. Simple things like these can really make a difference in your day to day life and help you utilize the best portions of yourself, and that’s why I count this as a great success.
3. I worked two jobs during high school to save up enough money to pay for a trip to Europe with my best friends so that we could spend one last time together before we graduated. My friends’ parents all paid for them to take the trip, but my mom would only allow me to go if I saved the money myself, which I thought was fair since she busted her but to pay bills and keep a roof over our heads. She is still surprised to this day that I persevered and actually did it. I’m so thankful that I did because I got to fulfill one of my biggest dreams at such a young age with some of my favorite people at the time. It was tough going to school and then going straight to work until it was time for bed, but I just kept thinking about the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben to get me through the long days and it all paid off! It helped to teach me that anything is possible if you work hard enough for it, no matter how old or young you are.
4. I bought my first house at the age of 25. My boyfriend and I bought an older house that was abandoned and falling apart in many ways. We fixed it up ourselves and with the help of our families of course (thankfully, my boyfriend is very handy). We sanded, spackled, painted, and redid every portion of the home from putting in new sheetrock in every room to redoing the entire electrical system (my boyfriend’s dad is an electrician – woohoo!). We added sliding doors, gutted and replaced the kitchen (we designed the new kitchen ourselves), and refinished the hard wood floors. We ripped out overgrown landscaping, replaced the porch that was falling apart and even ripped out old sinks and toilets from the bathrooms. We went there almost every night after work until late and kept moving forward with repairs even if we were exhausted the next day when our alarms rang at 6 a.m. We also worked on the house every single weekend for three months and saved all of our money instead of going out so that we could spend it on the home and necessary supplies. Our house is now another constant reminder that all good things come to those who wait AND those who work their asses off. 🙂 I had never so much as picked up a piece of sandpaper before undertaking this huge project and yet, I learned so much about construction and about life in general throughout the arduous process. I also gained a fabulous home that we can truly call our own.
Failures
1. One day few years ago when I was feeling particularly hormonal and grouchy, I wrote emails from my work address complaining to my mother about the various aspects of my job/boss that I didn’t like. Half the things I said I didn’t mean and was just acting out my personal frustrations on my boss, which was totally wrong and unfair. I deleted the emails right after I sent them and thought that since it was the first time I had ever wrote anything personal from my work email address, that he would never find them or suspect them. WRONG! He still saw them somehow and confronted me about it after acting awkward and cold for a couple of months. Needless to say, I learned to never use my work email for personal things and also that it’s never a good idea to let personal feelings infect your work space. It will always come back to haunt you. I learned how to apologize, admit that I was wrong and turn a negative attitude/situation into something of improvement as well. After I apologized, we had a serious talk about what I didn’t like about my job and we wound up making changes to the office that make working here a lot more enjoyable for both of us.
2. In high school, I didn’t particularly like this one boy who kept asking me out, but I was nice to him anyway because he was kind and a great friend. One day I accidentally sent him a text message that I meant to send to my friend. The message was saying how much he annoyed me and how I couldn’t take his constant texts anymore (I know…bitchy, right?!). When I realized that I sent it to him by mistake, I felt so bad that I apologized and asked him to hang out just so I could make amends and show him that he was awesome and I was just being bratty. In hanging out with him, I found that he was actually not annoying at all and I realized that I genuinely liked him. We’re still together to this day, eight years later. Some epic failures do really pay off if you take the right steps to correct them. 😉
3. I once allowed a man come between me and a great friend and I miss her companionship to this day. I should have known better and that was a total epic failure on my part. I also once betrayed the trust of a great friend by revealing one of his secrets, just so I could fit in with a different group of people. I basically sold him out for my own personal benefit. At the time, I didn’t realize what I was doing, but after a month or so I realized that my actions were completely wrong. We all make those types of mistakes and it’s important to recognize them so you learn how to behave better in the future. Since those failures, I never let friendships slip away due to stupid avoidable issues and I’ve created some really long lasting relationships after learning how to be loyal and honest with others.
4. I’ve gotten pulled over in the past for speeding and driving recklessly. I would never wear my seat belt either. I consider those moments as huge fails, not only because you get fined heft amounts of money and have to appear in court, but also because you genuinely do put other people in danger when you’re being reckless on the road. Plus, you can add points to your license which will make your monthly insurance bills much higher. Since getting pulled over years ago, I’ve become a much safer driver and if those moments hadn’t happened, I may have hurt myself or someone else on the road. Thankfully, I now drive safe and always wear my seat belt! 😉
In anything you do, do your best and don’t regret it if you fail. Take what you learned and carry it with you throughout each new experience. Apologize for mistakes, vow to do better in the future, and banish regrets. If you do that with persistence and an open mind, success is unavoidable.
Good luck!
transcendentbeauty 