Odumala Taiwo: Failing excellently (30 Days, 30 Voices)

by Odumala Taiwo

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”We want to get that dream job without a glitch; we want that mouth-watering contract with little hassle, but we forget that like iron, we all must pass through fire to be desirable.”

“To those who must begin their lives again, may you find your way amongst the shadows and thorns; strong of heart, full of faith, sunlit with dreams”- unknown

The above quote jarred me from my reverie, I had let this thing hold me down for too long and somehow it opened my mind to one thing we all do not welcome, but which everyone must experience in life. One thing I am beginning to learn about because in the past few weeks my experiences have led down that path – Failure.

We all want the good life at our very first try. We want to get that dream job without a glitch; we want that mouth-watering contract with little hassle, but we forget that like iron, we all must pass through fire to be desirable. That fire is failure. It builds in us resilience, better knowledge and of course, a better us. That is if we accept it for what it is, something to mould us. Let me start from the very beginning.

The past few weeks have left me in self-doubts and various stages of internal conflicts, questioning all that I know. And the reason? I had come close to failing.

Failure is that feeling that comes with not achieving a particular task or a set goal. Failure can be depressing if one allows it to weigh him down. Failure is what we feel when we mess up that job interview. Failure is what we feel when we are told we are not good enough. Failure strikes at us when we realize that we did not perform well in the last examination. It is that deep shallow feeling we experience when we do not meet our own expectations.

Somehow, one way or the other, we have all failed. Sometime in the past, we have been overwhelmed by this feeling of failure. We have known what it feels to get that phone call telling us, confirming that we have failed. We all know what it is to fail that all-too-easy test because we were riding on confidence and forgot the minute details. But we know that we have not failed, because ‘failed’ sounds final, as if there is no remedy. We know we may be failing but we know we have not failed.

Failing keeps us low and with every new failure, we remain there, not ready to re-emerge, to learn from every mistake. This inability is the real failure, the one that stops us from trying again. Then we learn to take this new part of us in stride because we realize that he who has not failed at one time or the other will not learn, cannot grow and life is all about learning and growing.

Sometimes we fail because we are not prepared for the things that come our way. Sometimes, the reasons we fail are things we already know but which we took for granted. If life were by the things we know, then life would take a totally different twist. It would lack colour and fun. These things we do not know are then taught to us in a hard way when we fail. At that point, we are ready to know them, to add them to the knowledge we already have.

However, failure is a feeling that can be overcome. It begins with one deciding to begin again. It propels us to find our way through the fears, shadows and thorns that line the way to success. It helps us to learn, unlearn and relearn all that we already know and be ready to take a plunge into a new knowledge, one that can only be taught in the school of life.

Every time we fail, we learn. We change. We grow. So life must begin again every time we fail, for us to grasp the true meaning of existence, to explore life in all its facets. After the realization, comes the acceptance.

Failure may cast shadows of fear on our doorsteps. It may even slow down our zeal to go on with our dreams. It may tear at our mind; make us ask the questions which answers we already know but which we have begun to doubt. It may fill us with sadness and take away our happiness. We know that we are stronger than its weight on our soul and that beyond those shadows come a clear knowledge that once we know where we are wrong, we can make amends. Through that, we can ignite the flare of hope again. We can be right again and we can be successful again.

When we fail, we should ride on its effects, learn from it and use it to propel ourselves into the successes we see ourselves becoming.

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Odumala Taiwo is a fervent writer and a growing copy writer in search of knowledge. She believes ‘’ there’s a world inside her head; an alternate reality.’’ and currently works with DKK Nigeria.

30 Days, 30 Voices series is an opportunity for young Nigerians from across the world to share their stories and experiences – creating a meeting point where our common humanity is explored.

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

 

 

One comment

  1. This is just the Ugly Truth. It’s because we dread this ugly truth that we shy away from it, and it’s possibility.. We dread it so much we don’t want to think of it lest it taints our thoughts, how much more speak it for fear that it will smear our tongues.. And then, we are worse off for it. Life is a race but we fall more because we are running too fast from the truth of being, the truth of living, rather than because we are knocked to the ground by it. Life comes in about a thousand and one shades, and we must learn that no one shade is made for one person. Life is life and if we are living, it must happen to us somehow in all its magnificence, colours and shades.

    Failure is how we see it. It is a test, a lesson, an experience and an affirmation that no one is really perfect.

    Failure will happen at some point, I pray we find the courage and grace to look to God with a smile and ask Him to lead us through as we try again!!

    Thanks for the wonderful read ma’am! We’ll get THERE.

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