Failure as a Learning Opportunity

Challenge is an inevitable part of our lives. When faced with it one can acquire more experience by overcoming that difficulty and searching for the right answer. Therefore, the times of discomfort, challenge, or failure can be seen as a source of energy for future actions and a way to become a stronger personality.

As for the personal experience that made me realize these things I would like to share the story about the time I was running for the president position during student body elections in Mott Hall 2, my middle school. I’ve made lots of posters and flyers, which described my intentions and program of action in case I become the president. The posters were hung on the walls of the school. I also went around and talked to some students encouraging them to vote for me. What I didn’t do is talking to the whole student body of my school and trying to connect with students on deeper level. As a result of that campaign, I lost the elections. I was feeling low for a while but together with that I realized that this failure has given me positive experience as well as negative. I’ve learned about the successful ways of conducting a political campaign, even such a small-scale one. I’ve realized that in order to succeed I have to cover many more people if I want them to vote for me and that as a future president of student body I have to be a public person whose actions can be observed and evaluated daily.

As my example illustrates, failure is just one more way of teaching people what to do the next time in similar situations. Although it often causes a lot of unpleasant feelings it also helps to receive life experience and moral strength.