If you’re anything like me, dealing with failure is tough. Whether you didn’t do as well on a test as you would’ve liked, or you didn’t get that dream internship, it can be hard to take failure in stride. Here are a few ways you can take your disappointment and make it constructive!
1. Learn from your mistakes!
It’s cliché, but true; mistakes are just opportunities to improve! If you turned in a paper that wasn’t your best work, use the feedback to write a better one next time. If you don’t nail a job interview, practice a little more or differently for next time. Remember that it’s impossible to succeed in everything you try, so it’s best to learn from your failures rather than beat yourself up over them.
2. Take time to reevaluate.
If you seem to fail at the same task repeatedly, take a moment to ask yourself if you’re prioritizing the right things. If it’s school-related, make sure you’re taking classes that are right for your interests and abilities. If it’s a hobby, decide if you like the hobby enough to keep trying, or if you are forcing yourself to do something you don’t enjoy. In other words, make sure you’re failing at something you want to spend time failing at!
3. Remind yourself you’re still a valued human.
No matter what you fail at, it’s important to remember that you are still a smart, important person. It can be hard to recall this when you’re staring at a rejection letter, but talking down to yourself will only make things worse. Next time you feel disappointed in yourself, try to focus on being disappointed in the situation instead. Then, remind yourself of your best qualities; making a mistake doesn’t erase your intrinsic value!
4. Think about the future.
Dwelling on past mistakes has never helped anyone succeed. Once you’ve had a moment to process your disappointment, do your best to move forward. Try to get excited about the next opportunity you’ll have to try the task again. Better yet, think about how excited you’ll be when you do succeed! If you can’t bear to think about it, try to look forward to something else that makes you happy, even if it’s just the upcoming weekend!
Failure comes with being human, and we all fail sometimes. Try your best to move past your mistakes and not take failure too seriously!