How to Deal with Failure

It’s only Tuesday but I already feel the negativity of “failure” weighing down on me. Do you ever feel like you aren’t doing enough? That you need to put in more effort, but can’t find the will or ambition to do so? Maybe you open up an application to a job or internship and just forgot about applying because you choose to watch Netflix instead? 

This week so far (yeah, 2 days) has brought me a bit of disappointment from not doing so well on some exams to not being chosen for an internship. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s gone through this – in fact, most college students probably have – but you still feel down especially when everyone else seems to be doing well. Let’s be honest though, everyone puts their best face forward, just like you or me.

So, how do we all deal with failure? We all have our own ways of coping but let’s start with an obvious one – stop being dramatic.

This sounds harsh, but for me it’s kinda true. I still have the rest of this quarter to bump up my grades and there are tons of internships out there. Plus, for every few (or many) failures, there’s some success if you’re working hard and putting in the effort to move past this road block. It’s about mindset.

If you can get past being dramatic, now is the time to start being active instead of passive. By active, I mean think of what your next step is to overcome your failure. Maybe it’s to send out a ton more resumes and cover letters, maybe it means taking a mental breather and closing down technology, or maybe it means becoming productive in one aspect of your life that will transfer over to everything else.

You really need to find what motivates you. What shouldn’t motivate you is fear because fear holds you back from taking risks. Fear of failure stops you from sending out that next application because you’re afraid of the rejection but guess what, it’s part of life. Pick yourself back up and remember why you’re working hard. I work hard because I want a career that I don’t hate, to support the lifestyle that I want, but most importantly, I want to be an influence in the world whether that means being an empowering figure or giving advice for those who feel lost. One of my biggest goals in life is to make a difference in a stranger’s life because you never know who needs you.

So yeah, this week/2 days has started off rough, but I can’t let that keep me down and you shouldn’t let it keep you down. I’m 100% sure this blog post could have been better written, but my thoughts are scattered and my mind is on my next move. Is yours?