Why Failure is Never Final: Learning to Embrace the Silver Lining

Picture this: Remember that time you asked that hot girl out, and your cool, loaded friend got the catch instead? Or how about that dark day where you were sure that your project was going to win an award, and that hated colleague walked off with the trophy? These are just some of the everyday scenarios where we have all encountered failure.

However, it is important to remember that success is never-ending, and failure is never final. It may seem clichéd, but there is always a silver lining to be found in any situation. Every situation in life offers a lesson, and it is our job to find it and learn from it.

For instance, let’s say you were set on attending a prestigious university, but unfortunately, you were not accepted. The disappointment you may feel can be overwhelming, and to those who got in, you may feel like a failure. Perhaps your friends and family may also lose faith in you. However, failing sometimes serves as a stepping stone to a better path towards achieving your dreams. There may be a grander plan in store for you, and that so-called failure needs to be taken in stride, learned from, and then stored for future use. What others think of you is irrelevant.

Thomas A. Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” when he finally succeeded in making the light bulb. Imagine 10,000 failures! Had he given up after five attempts or a hundred, we still may not have had the light bulb we take for granted today. It is essential to remain positive even when faced with rejection, failure, or any other society-dictated rebuff. Failing at something does not mean that we cannot achieve success. It means that more work needs to be done, more attempts need to be made.

Famous authors have been rejected and bluntly refused by many equally famous publishers. Still, they persevered. They wrote and wrote some more, sent off their manuscripts to one, two, twenty agents before finally succeeding. Isn’t that what success is? Failure that doesn’t give up.

Giving up is the only sure way to fail. Successful people often remark that it is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. They speak from the heart since no success comes without a list of failures behind it. It is common knowledge that if you try something for the first time, you are not likely to succeed at it.

Remember the first time you played ball, tried your hand at skating, or decided to learn to play the guitar? Chances are, you were not very good at it. Learning to ride a bike is similar to learning how to navigate life. A child does not give up the first time they fall. There is the possibility of getting hurt or the scorn of older children who can ride the bike effortlessly. Still, the child cries, get into a bad mood, and even declares that they won’t ride a bike again. But when the sun rises, the child gets back on and pedals madly until they finally succeed.

There is no such thing as failure; not achieving something means that you learn and try again until you finally accomplish it. If you give up, you have failed through your own doing. All you need to do is try, try again. And even after that, if you do not succeed, keep trying. Success is a never-ending process. Failure may make you feel like it’s final, but it’s only the beginning of the next step of the journey.

Take life’s failures as a blessing in disguise. Embrace the journey by finding the lessons that will help you overcome the next obstacle that comes your way. Do not let failure conquer you; instead, let a resilient attitude guide you towards success.