Failing is Simply not Trying

Daily writing prompt

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I have spent lots of time trying to remove this word from my vocabulary, only to have it thrown back in constantly.

In my humble opinion, failure is a result of not trying to do things that are hard. There is a difference between failing and not succeeding.

There are literally hundreds of times that I have tried something and it didn’t turn out successful. For instance, I have been applying for jobs for literally 2 years with no success. I have tried everything except for fast food essentially, but I have not been successful thus far.

This simple lack of success does not make my attempts failures, instead it creates opportunities to grow. It allows me to build my skills and continue to push forward, with an expectation that something will eventually change.

Failure would be me giving up. Failing would be my choice to not apply to any more jobs. The choice to stop going to the gym. The choice to eat only junk food. Or the choice to sit in my house everyday with no expectation of greater things.

I choose to see things that hold me back as opportunities, not as failures and that mindset has opened my eyes.

Are there days where I feel like I have failed? Absolutely!

Are there days where I never want to see another job application in my entire life? Definitely!

Are there moments when I don’t believe my own hype and that things will never improve? Of course!

Those are the days when I have to dig deep and push harder to succeed. Those are the days when I am on my knees, asking for strength to do one more day. And then somehow, I get through it and the next day comes and I do it all over again.

That is the difference between failure and triumph. Never giving up. Pushing through it when it feels like it is pushing you back to the beginning.