Essay on Failure

Submitted By andisk8s
Words: 889
Pages: 4

Andrea W.
AP English 11
4th hour
21 October 2014
Failure
Failure is part of a process necessary in learning and progressing, it is unavoidable. Failure is a decision of the inevitable. People who choose to fail and learn from their mistakes develop ideas, thoughts, and personality traits. Those people who avoid failures develop a fear of them and live failing the pursuit of knowledge. Failing is giving yourself the opportunity to learn. So often failure does not receive enough credit for what it merits. So many people have successfully grasped an understanding of the term and have used it to develop their thinking.
Society has effectively portrayed the term failure with a distressing and almost painful connotation, as the result of an unsuccessful attempt. The terms success and failure have been skewed, by the conditioning of today’s generation, as antonyms. Failure is even defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as, “a lack of success”, or, “omission of occurrence or performance.” Someone once said, “You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you; failure builds character.” After spending a substantial amount of time on Google I have come to the conclusion that the source of this quote is unknown, but when something makes that much sense, credibility isn’t always necessary. Failure is not to be repressed, but encouraged. Thomas Edison is quoted saying, “I haven’t failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to not make a light bulb.” Not only does this quote substantiate the previous one by saying that failure is in no way inferior to success, but it proceeds to say the two may coincide.
Failure should be viewed as a learning experience, not a justification for quitting. This is shown throughout the life of an artist, who had dropped out of school at the age of 16, and could not remain employed at a newspaper company for “lacking imagination,” and, “having no original ideas.” This young man proceeded in building one of the most celebrated animation and production companies in the world. His name was Walt Disney. Albert Einstein also lacked a complete school education. He was unable to speak until the age of 4 and unable to read until the age of 7. He struggled throughout his early life and schooling, later stating, “School failed me, and I failed the school…I thought my thirst for knowledge was being strangled by my teachers….” He abandoned school, took control of his “thirst for knowledge”, and received a Nobel Prize in physics. These men used their failures as building blocks that propelled them to success. Bill gates can be quoted saying, “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Failure provides information that could not be uncovered by immediate success, making the knowledge of the topic greater and abundantly clearer.
Failure that is practiced is a step taken in progress. It should be viewed as an opportunity to gain from. After a lesson is learned from the failure, the search for knowledge and answers should continue. Henry Ford once said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again. This time more intelligently.” Failure has consequences that can be interpreted as instructional. Once the concept of the failure is grasped, to begin again is essential. Failure does not take pity, it is not sympathetic or kind. It