Failure Builds Character
Countless books have been written about failure. In the past, failure has been something that was shunned and in many cultures meant a loss of honor and dignity. Suicides have been committed because of failure and numerous lives destroyed in its name.
Nowadays, failure is seen as a stepping stone towards success. It was said that "Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence." and this has been a resounding message that has spread throughout the world.
In all honesty, I am a strong believer of this advocacy having failed more times than I can recall. The truth is that I learned more from failure than I ever did in success. Despite the fact that was I raised to avoid failure, I had the propensity to fail in almost every endeavor. I was never the best or the champion in anything but always just the runner-up.
In high school, I studied hard with the hope of being at the top of my class. After years of diligence and sacrifice, I fell one point short of being the top; settling for the position of second. In college, I toiled relentlessly to make it to the Dean's list; only to lose that distinction a semester later. Even when running for president of various organizations, I always ended either being the vice-president or nothing at all.
In ROTC (Reserve Officer's Training Corps) I made all the effort to be an excellent cadet officer with the hope of becoming the Corps Commander someday. Sadly, all I ever made it to was the rank next to it.
In medical school, failure hit me left and right constantly. It felt a lot like quick sand. The more I tried to resist failure; the more it came to me. I am sure that medical students reading this would know what I am talking about. It came to a point of time when I started questioning myself about my decision to become a doctor. Multiple failures have even led others to question whether this was the right path for me to take.
The avoidance of failure usually leads to fear and an obsessive pattern of over thinking. Mistakes are not welcome and we are taught to get everything right. If we got everything right, then what would we ever learn from that?
What really is not reiterated when talking about failure is that it builds character. It cultivates persistence and resilience among many other things. For every failure of mine, it gave me the motivation to try harder the next time around. As I always say "whenever I fall off the horse, I stand up and try again".
It is natural to feel the pain of defeat and failure but staying on the ground and writhing in pain forever serves no purpose. That period of pain has to be the point where we assess what we did wrong and then commit ourselves to not making the same mistakes again.
As hard as it may be to believe, I truly am thankful for the failures in my life for without them I would not have learned the most important lessons that guided me throughout the years. I would not have gained the wisdom and inspiration that I so freely share to everyone around me.
As many of you may have heard me say before; "during one of my worst failures in medical school, someone once said to me, "You should accept that it's not really meant for you...you have failed at it too many times..."
I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "It's not have many times I've failed but how many times I try again that counts!"
Failure is not what kills people's dreams. It's the refusal to stand up and try again is what defeats us all. Failure today does not necessarily mean failure tomorrow. I just can't imagine where I would be now if I had given in to my failures. If there is anything I should be thankful for, it is my sheer stubbornness to accept defeat.
I will not deceive you into thinking that I have never thought about giving up. That thought crossed my mind every time I failed and it is a natural process of dealing with pain. Despite that I still pushed on with the hope that this time around I would get things right. Eventually I did.
Without the failures in my life , I would not be able to fully appreciate any success that I have achieved for you can never treasure the warmth of day without suffering through the cold of night.
Till next time :) - Doc France
