Some people’s dream end before they even begin. People fall from their ladder of dreams after almost reaching the top. Yet, they climb again and again. Not losing hope, being unwavering in their beliefs.

What most of us fail to realise is that failure is inevitable. It may sound a cliche, but yes, failure is a part of life. If we won’t fail, we won’t learn. And the process of learning after every mistake is what leads on the final try in which we succeed. How else would we know the path to success?

Competition exists because failure exists. Without the possibility of failing, people will not try as hard because they would know that they would win. People wouldn’t strive to get the best if everyone is getting the best. This way, everyone would end up losing.

Almost no one gets what they want in the first try. Believe me on this. I know of a lot of stories of failures and successes. I know people who become successful in the first attempt and I know people who fail many times before finally winning.

I know of a boy who had magical legs as far as playing football was concerned. He dreamt of playing for his team. He dreamt of being the one to shoot the ball in the net. But luck was almost never with him. He wasn’t able to make it to the team because of injustices. He didn’t lose hope and got his jersey a year later. But even then, he got injured so many times before the big games that he wasn’t able to play. His dreams began to fall into pieces before his eyes.

He began to think he was not destined to play football. But his chance came when he played in a new position for his country’s team for the first time, and he played gloriously, with thousands of people watching on their screens. And he won.

Thus, we learn lesson number one — that we should not lose hope because things happen in life at the time they are destined to happen. Your luck also comes into play with a lot of other factors. Your failure is not your fault, it is not your destiny. Your destiny is to try harder and harder each time until you win, and not stop trying even after you win.

I know the story of a friend who is a brilliant student. A girl who never got anything less than an A grade on her report card, a girl who practiced for months, staying up late, missing all other things and focusing only on the entrance exam. On the day of the exam she was hopeful and enthusiastic to do her best, but she was too tired. The exam was long and lengthy. It went well, but she was scared she hadn’t done her best.

When the results came, they weren’t what she expected. She had not excelled like she always did. She became very disappointed with herself. She thought about the things people would say. But, after a while, she begun to realise that one small setback was not the end of her dreams and her prospects. She realised that she had a lot of other options, many different roads that led to many different possibilities and bright futures.

This story leads to lesson number two — things will not happen like they always do. There are bound to be wins and losses in everyone’s lives. Life is unpredictable and new situations will arise for everyone, requiring the ability to deal with them effectively (which is in fact also winning, because you learn to be strong in the face of challenges.

And people don’t know how hard you have worked for your goals. People do not realise the difficulty of the tasks you’re undertaking. People only focus on the end game. They only concern themselves with the knowledge of who won and who lost, who passed and who failed. They do not know who worked hard and who did not.

Hence, do not get disheartened when people taunt you when you fail, because they will be the same people who will shower you with appreciation when you pass. Be the one to motivate yourself and criticise yourself as well. It will prove to be most fruitful.

These two lessons will help you in avoiding the sorrow of your misfortunes and teach you how to accept them and learn from them. Learning is always the key. What you learn from your wins and what you glean from your losses will matter in the end. It is what will make you a better, well-person.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 24th, 2020