Aneesh Konda One of the most prolific inventors in history, Thomas A. Edison once said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” We’ve all failed at least once in our lives. From studying until 3 am for a math test and receiving an F grade, to trying your best to win an officer position and losing, failure is inevitable. However, it’s not particularly the way you fail I am talking about, but the way you respond to failure. How do you pick yourself up, and move on? Here are 3 ways I deal with failure head-on, and move towards a clearer path of success.

I Accept It:

Before you I even start to move on to bigger and brighter things, I know that I need to accept my shortcomings to deal with failure. NBA legend Michael Jordan himself once said “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” Realizing that I have failed, accepting it, and being able to move on is, in my opinion, the first step in the path to success. This is not easy, and it can take a increasingly long amount of time to do so. There’s no rush; acceptance can take an hour, day or even a week to attain. Having an open-minded and optimistic attitude can help you in these situations.

I Learn:

After acceptance, I embrace failure as part of the learning process. I see it more as valuable feedback, something I use to improve rather than as a big blow and setback. Think to yourself, What have I learned from this? How can I improve on this mistake moving forward? The important thing before even beginning to deal with failure is to start thinking about the situation from this perspective and to be constructive about things. This is more vital to avoid getting stuck in denial or negativity.

I Stay Hungry:

Finally, and most important of all, I never give up. I stay hungry. Innovator and genius, Steve Jobs responded to failure with “Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.” Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to fail even more. A path to success is not a straight line of win after win, it can fluctuate. It can drop. It can rise. The most important thing to keep in mind is that every failure is just another step forward. Every failure is something you can learn from.

Every failure and every success is what makes you, you.
Aneesh Konda is currently a sophomore in highschool. He enjoys watching Youtube videos, hanging out with friends, and binge-watching Netflix.