We've all been in those situations where we try so hard to succeed but we still fail. Does our effort still make us a failure?
Have you ever been in one of those situations when you're trying your absolute best, but still failing? I certainly have... multiple times. It's so frustrating when I feel that I'm doing everything in my power to succeed but I just can't.
Honestly, when I'm in this situation, there are times when I feel like a complete failure. I'm trying my best, why am I not getting the desired results? Maybe I'm not trying hard enough.
It's so easy to convince myself that my effort isn't enough.
But what if it's not the effort that's the problem? What if it's the way or mechanism through which you're trying to solve it?
Singing and Failing
There was this one time when I was trying to hit the big end note in a song. I had the right pitch, but it still sounded off. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why! When my voice lesson came around, my teacher told me that it was an easy fix: simply change the vowel. (For example: change "oh" to "ow" or "ee" to "eh." There's lots of switches like this in singing.) And bam! It sounded much better right away!
You see, it wasn't that I didn't try hard enough, it's just that I needed to try a new way. Success doesn't normally come on the first try, but it comes eventually.
Expectations Make a Difference
A lot of the time, we feel like failures because we had such high expectations for ourselves. But Savannah, expectations are what push me to do better! Good! You should push yourself! However, there is a big difference between expectations and hope. Expectations are somewhat more concrete, but they imply that there can be no other good or right outcome. However, hope leaves room for other outcomes. What I'm trying to say is that having one singular outcome in mind makes change (or failure) much harder to deal with. It still hurts to hope and fail, but not nearly as much as to expect and fail.
This is a way of trying differently: still put in the effort and hope that you will succeed, not expect it. That way, when you succeed, you can celebrate your accomplishments because you may not have expected them. Furthermore, through this hopeful (not expectant) attitude, humility is encouraged. When you don't expect success, you can find genuine joy in achieving what you'd hoped to achieve.
Fail Boldly!
What if things don't go my way? That's okay! Failing, coming up short, and not being perfect are normal parts of being human. It's not "weird" to fail—it's human, which is exactly what you are! It's in our DNA to be imperfect. As difficult as it is, it's not about how badly we fail, it's all about how we handle and respond to our shortcomings.
This may be of one of those "if you're going to fall off the diving board, might as well do a belly flop" sort of encouragements. Be willing to fail! Of course, failing isn't necessarily a fun thing, but it is a necessary thing. It's how we learn, especially from our big mistakes or failures.
When the mistakes are blatant, they're easier to fix or correct or grow from. It might be embarrassing, but you'll have a greater and possibly quicker learning experience. But remember, your failures don't define you, they are mere stepping stones on your path to greatness.
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