I read something online that got me thinking…it was a quote that said:

You have to be prepared to fail spectacularly. That has always been the cornerstone of how I operate – Tham Khai Meng

 

Do you think there is any truth to this statement? Has an experience in life ever pointed this way? Or do you totally disagree with the statement?

 

I believe there is a lot of truth in this statement. However, this truth is not always plain to see and needs honest introspection. Yet, once we begin to understand this statement, we can learn a lot from ‘failure.’ Take time to think about it carefully and you will see what I mean.

 

When I was in my last year of high school I read and read and read and failed my exams time and time again. I could not understand what was going on but I knew deep in my heart that I was brighter than I was doing. At the end of the second term I had failed so badly I was overcome by a desperate need to at the very minimum get a C+ so I could go straight into campus and not have to do the bridging classes. That holiday I spent loads of time thinking about what I had been doing and figured that I needed to find something different to do or else I would be lost for life. In the end I figured I needed to change my study patterns and find longer rest periods and deal with the stress. Amazingly, just one change enabled me to get good grades and achieve my dream of going straight to university.

 

Over the years I have learnt that when I look back, hindsight is indeed 20:20. Often, I have shared my sense of loss with a friend clarity comes with the realisation that there is an opportunity to find good in every circumstance and failure is not a bad thing per se. I have learnt that when something doesn’t work out the way I want it to I often call that failure. The question begs, is it really failure?

 

I have come to see failure differently:

• Failure is a golden opportunity to redirect my life and find new ways to do things.
• Failure is a chance to learn something new, discover new paths or rediscover a passion.
• Failure is an opportunity to redirect attention to other critical issues in life that need attention.
• Failure will bring to the fore what isn’t working and we need to change or at least alter it slightly.
• Failure is a reminder that God is in control and I am but a vessel in His service.

 

Today I accept that when things don’t work out the way I want them to there is a point of growth just around the corner that I will value deeply and greatly a few steps down the line. This has been true time and time again but sometimes I have forgotten this truth.

 

I choose to connect with God and the challenges he allows my way because I know that they will make me strong and I will bring honour to him.