Failure Is a Better Teacher Than Success free essay sample

Henry Ford once said: â€Å"Failure is the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. † It is hard to imagine that this famous historical figure ever failed in his lifetime. In fact, many of Ford’s innovative ideas were rejected many times – others, like the assembly line, are still used today. However, we do not hear of these failures, as newspapers often emphasize in big bold lettered words like â€Å"success† and â€Å"win†. Behind these fabulous stories of success lies a long journey of failures. If you want to truly be good at something, you must first fail a few times. Failure does not represent shame, deficit, or loss; in fact, it presents a chance for new opportunity and growth. Meaningful experiences are created from failures, experiences that strengthen a person’s determination. Failure also allows you to learn from your mistakes. For these reasons, failure is a better teacher than success. We will write a custom essay sample on Failure Is a Better Teacher Than Success or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What is one trait that a person must have to conquer great things in life? Determination. A person must have a firm and unwavering idea of what they want to achieve in order to attain their goal. Failure acts as a teacher by teaching you determination. This skill will enable you to overcome obstacles in the future as there’s always going to be ups and downs. Many notable figures throughout history demonstrate the continuous fighting spirit required to attain success. Our modern day life would be devoid of the contributions from these notable figures were it not for them emerging and Cheng,2 earning from their failures. Some of these influential people who once failed are Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, and even the beloved television personnel Oprah Winfrey. Another important figure to analyze is Charles Darwin, the scientist who proposed the theory of evolution. Darwin, being born into a family of physicians, was naturally expected by his father to go into the same field. His father had high hopes that his son would follow in his footsteps . However, he and his father did not share the same dream. Darwin gave up on having a medical career and instead wanted to focus on research. For this behavior, his father often chastised him for being lazy and too dreamy often chastised him, as being a researcher at his time was hard to find work in, require long periods of time, and low paying. Darwin had once written, â€Å"I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standards of intellect. † Though those who were closest to him considered him as a failure, he still persisted on being a researcher. From this failure, he overcame the obstacle and gained the trait of being determined which helped him later on in life with his theory. Continuing on to his research, he came up with the theory of evolution. The theory of evolution involves Natural selection – that when there is over-reproduction, only those that are genetically suited for the environment can continue to survive, and this continues at a slow rate over a long period of time. This theory, though controversial to this day, is being taught in all science courses. Nevertheless, back in Darwin’s time, Britain was still very religious. The church had a lot of power and influence on society. Darwin’s theory contradicted the church’s view, as Darwin states that humans have a common ancestor with apes. On the other hand, the church believed that God made people in his own image, and as a result, the majority of people did too. He and his theory Cheng,3 were ridiculed, as before he refined his theory, he did not have the evidence he needed to connect all living organisms heretically (now found as DNA). To deny Christianity at the time would destroy of his relationship with his beloved religious wife, as well as his social standing – and even still, it would’ve been impossible to get very many people to accept his. This is why, though it was a risky move, he co-published his theory so that it wasn’t entirely his responsibility, making it more socially acceptable. Although there was a lot of pressure on him, and despite the many trials he faced, Darwin created the foundation for biological science, proving that failure has taught him the trait of being determined which is often necessary before one can truly succeed. When you look at a glass of water, would you say the glass is half full or half empty? There is always a positive side to things. Failure can be seen as an opportunity to improve, not a burden. Failure is the gateway to success if you use it to your benefit. A research study by Vinit Desai, an assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School, proves that knowledge gained from success is often short-lived while knowledge from failure tends to stick around for years and is more permanent. Desai compared the flights of space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the 2002 Atlantis flight, a piece of insulation broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster, but did not affect the mission of the program. Because this was considered a ‘success’, there was little follow-up or investigation. However, in the 2003 Challenger launch off, another piece of insulation broke off. This time, the shuttle and its sevenperson crew lost their lives in the process. The disaster prompted the suspension of shuttle flights, and led to a major investigation resulting in 29 recommended changes to prevent future calamities. By learning from their mistakes, there have been fewer Cheng,4 accidents. Therefore, the Challenger helped astronauts improve space travel in future models, and taught the world that, provided that you learn from your failure and make the appropriate adjustments, failure is in fact, an opportunity to improve, and often is a better teacher than success. At a young age, I always got exceptional marks and placed well in every competition I entered. This streak of success went to my head and caused me to become arrogant. I lost sight of the hard work needed for this success as I thought that I naturally deserved it. In Gr. 6, I became rebellious. I did not go home at the appropriate times, did not listen to my parents as I started developing my own mind. I also never did any of my homework. This ended up reflecting on my academic report card. Opposed to my straight A’s in the previous years, this year, out of 8 classes, I received 4 Cs and 1 D. When I received the report card, I had a terrible feeling in my stomach and wanted to dry heave. My mother was hugely disappointed in me and even felt ashamed that I was her daughter. It was then, that I made a life decision that I never want to feel like that again. To guarantee this type of ituation would not arise again, I took the time to analyze my mistakes and made goals on how to go about improving them. This failure brought me back to reality. As Thomas Edison said â€Å"Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninetynine percent perspiration. † I was incapable of succeeding without putting in any efforts. After that year, I’ve maintained an honor roll averag e in school, and did my best to be a polite and well-mannered girl, as well as an obedient daughter. Ever after those successes, for months afterwards, I still felt a sickening feeling when I think of that time that I failed, and of how easy it is to go back to that place. This failure has helped me to continue to Cheng,5 strive to be the best I can be every day, proving that failure is a better teacher than success. Ironically, some say that success acts as a better teacher as a confidence booster that allows people to have a better assurance of themselves. However, a success without failure is just an empty pretty shell a momentary value to gloat about, that is forgotten after a short while. Often times, the boost in confidence is, in reality, a boost in arrogance and complacency. People who are continuously successful become unappreciative of what has been granted them and therefore are liable to lose their humbleness, compassion, and potentially, the ability to sympathize. This is particularly true for me as when I was a young child, as everything just came to me naturally. I was doing well academically, was very athletic and musically talented, and was well liked and very social. It wasn’t long before I thought I was better than everyone else. I would always compare myself to other people but never point out their good points, instead pointing out their bad ones to show others how much better I was in contrast. I also had no motivational to strive to improve, which was one of the reasons it was such a surprise when I failed later on. Success can also do the exact opposite of building confidence – after succeeding repeatedly there is more pressure to keep succeeding, which ultimately makes it much easier to fail. This has the potential to limit someone’s creativity and their maximum potential, simply because they are scared of fail instead of learning to embrace it. Therefore, success not only allows people to become arrogant, it also proves to be a barrier for people to step out to try something new. Cheng,6 No matter what kind of a lesson failure teaches you, it is a lesson well taught. In most cases, once someone makes a mistake once, they will not make the same mistake again, proving failure to be a better teacher than success. Failure teaches you self-improvement. For example, how to become more determined – an important character trait. Failure also presents itself to you as a tool to improve and learn things that will last you a lifetime. Knowing this, you must continue to try hard, work hard, and learn from your mistakes, and who knows maybe you will be the next Albert Einstein.