You Can Fail but Do Not Give Up

Since I was young, I always wanted to be a professional soccer player. I left home when I turned 13 years old to enter a professional football academy, which is the conventional path for a soccer player career in Europe. Eight years later, after practicing for two years in the first team, I ended up not signing a professional contract. At that time, I could have wallowed in self-pity and given up on my dreams.

When I came to America, I could not speak English for the first four months. I failed to make myself understandable to others, which delayed the start of my MBA program. Yes, I failed so many times, but I never gave up.

Failure vs. Giving Up

Let me explain how I separate the two. In simple words, failure is a lack of success after attempting to produce the desired outcome. Failures are obvious. Failures are part of our lives for the simple and good reason that we do not have total control of all factors that contribute to outcomes. So, you can give your best and still not get the expected outcomes.

However, failure is a lot more valuable than giving up. When you give up, you do not use your full potential to reach the desired result. Giving up does not bring any satisfaction. During his third Olympics in Brazil, Yohann Diniz, the French and current world record holder was expecting to win the 50 km walk race. Leading for the majority of the race, he suffered from gastric pains that were intensified with the stifling heat. Even though he fell twice during the race, he did not let anything stop him and ended crossing the line. Beyond the fact that he did not reach his goal, this remains an important lesson.

Why Failing is good?

Don't be confused. I am not saying that we should always fail. I don't enjoy failing. But as long as I learn something from it, I am not totally failing. If you want to master the path of failure, you need to become a learner. You need to take something out of every time you fail and apply it to the next experience in order to make it a better mistake.

Thomas Edison did not come up with the light bulb in one or two attempts. No, he failed 1,000 times, and he called it "The different ways to not create a light bulb."

So, make sure that you will not give up at any point. When you decide that failing is the best thing that will happen to you, only then will you get a chance to succeed.

So, make sure that you will not give up at any point. When you decide that failing is the best thing that will happen to you, only then will you get a chance to succeed.

#confidence #selfdevelopment #truth #inspiration #motivation