Failure Shouldn’t Break You, They Should Make You -By Sunday T. Saheed

Have you ever been reprimanded over a failure? Do you know how it feels especially when it is done among your friends? Have you ever been compared to someone, maybe a mate, who is knowledgeable than you? If you have, and yet remains unbroken, you are one of the people who have faced death’s shadow.

With all, I’ve seen and experienced, being reprimanded after a failure is wrong. For someone to fail, that shows that the person has tried. Reprimanding him doesn’t mean you are inciting his capability, instead, you are ruining his productivity! “The only person who hasn’t done any mistake is the person who hasn’t done anything at all.” Mistakes shouldn’t make people feel miserable, it should make them feel preeminent that they have discovered some ways that won’t work for them!

Failure is meant to make you, not to break you. Failure should lead you to a scintillating path, not an irritating one. Failure should bring out the best in you, not the beast in you. Failure will teach you how to move whenever you fall, not how to droop whenever you fall. Failure should be a teacher and a friend, not a killer, and a friend!

Reprimanding someone who failed can kill or quench the person’s belief in him/herself. Once the belief in one’s self is quenched, one will be left with no choice than to live as an EMPTY VESSEL.

I once read a piece of news where two boys were reported to have been sentenced to death over the death of their mate. The three boys were said to be friends, but why do you think friends will want to kill a friend of theirs? Pressure! According to the argument of the assailants, the neighborhood mocked them whenever their friend did something that made him more outstanding. They claimed that even in school, the teachers mocked them, saying that they had a brilliant friend but were yet dullards. They said, “We tried to do something that will make us preeminent too, but it seems excellence was never on our side. Soon, we began to regret having a brilliant friend like ours.” Had it been when those children, yes, children, made mistakes and were laughed at, had it been that they were encouraged and showed the way with calm and motivating words, they might not have committed a murder!

In the autobiography of Ben Carson, a great neurologist, he talked about his fear of answering questions in class. He was mocked by both teachers and students anytime he made a mistake. He was even given a name, “Dullard Carson”, how despicable! Fear eats people, only a few are saved from being fear’s dish. Fear is like a dark room with many torches unlit. Lightning only one, lightness starts to have a sense of belonging. Once you can ignite just a little courage in you, fear starts to leave you. If not for Carson’s mother who had encouraged him, Carson would have lived with that fear of making mistakes, and sure, he wouldn’t be able to do a single thing with that! Now, Ben Carson lives in affluence, beating a record of separating a Siamese twins. His name can no longer be erased from the world’s memories again, never!

Isaac Newton who invented the light bulb was quoted to have said, “I didn’t fail for 1,000 times, I only found 1,000 ways that won’t work. “

Blames over failure isn’t needed, what is needed is encouragement! Bill Gates was discouraged that no one will ever want to have a computer in his/her room. Bill Gates must have been encouraged, his achievement now makes him outstanding in this entire milieu.

Whenever someone is down because of his/her failure, help him/her up with encouragement and showing the path to success.

By Sunday Saheed