Is Failure a Stepping Stone to Success? In this challenging life, we all have to

Is Failure a Stepping Stone to Success? In this challenging life, we all have to struggle in order to achieve our goals. I believe all of us want to be successful not to fail. We walk different ways and everyone tries hard to achieve them. On the way towards the goal, if we face a failure and if we do not rise up again anymore, imagine how the world will be? There are times when we do not feel like doing the same thing again just because of the failure we faced in the previous attempts. Even if we get up and try it again, we tend to lose our hope and fail to put 100% in it. Some way or the other, the fear of failure affects one’s performance. For example, if i put so much effort to achieve good result in my exam and if the result does not turn out to my expectation, I will feel like giving up and not try again for fear of failing. How does one define failure? How does one deal with failure? For many, the word ‘failure,’ is taken to be some sort of stupidity, weakness, dumbness etc. But according to my understanding, failure is an opportunity to leap into higher ground. The person who thinks everything is perfect in what he does will never leap into higher status as s/he has closed the door for further growth. At some point of life everyone may face failure and it is natural to do so. On such times, one often feel frustrated and label himself as failure but it may be that one is just a step away from reaching one’s targeted goal. Let us have a look on the life of a man who failed in business at the young age of 21, was defeated while running for a legislative seat at the age of 22, lost a congressional race at the age of 34, failed to become Vice-President at the age of 47 but he became the President of the United States at the age of 52. The man is none other than Abraham Lincoln. Had Lincoln succeeded in his first attempt to become a businessman, he would never have become the President of United States and the world would have not known him. But his repeated failures did not cow him down to try again. You may be at the point of giving up because your repeated attempts has not yielded any positive result but don’t give up yet. Let’s look back how much we can learn from our failures; not to repeat the same mistakes but to learn from them. We would have not known our mistakes if we succeed in the first attempt just as Lincoln would have never realized the dream of becoming a President if he had succeeded in his first attempt to become a businessman. Besides our efforts, the most important thing is to trust in the Lord. When we try to find the way in our own, apart from Christ, we end up with nothing. As the Bible says in Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Likewise unless the Lord blesses us and is with us we can do nothing. Yes, we need a helper to be successful. Let’s plan, aim and dream but submit everything unto Jesus so that His will may be done through our plans and dreams. It’s okay so long as what we do is right in the eyes of the Lord though the world say this and that. Let them say and tag us with different names but with a deaf ear let’s go on pursuing our dream by asking His will. [ A. Sophayo is 1st BTech (Civil Engineering) in NIT Meghalaya and can be reached at 9612731093]