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My greatest heartaches became my greatest assets.
- Aug 22, 2019
- 2 min read
Someone I love a lot went through a failure recently.
I started to reflect on my own failures in life.
I’ve had a lot. Too many to count.
I remember being in the 3rd grade and I was the only kid that couldn’t read yet. When my class had silent reading, I had to leave with Ms. Liz so she could help me. I was so embarrassed. In third grade I remember thinking somehow I’d failed life because I couldn’t read yet. I struggled with reading until the end of 4th grade.
In 7th grade I missed the game winning shot that lost us the championship. I thought I’d failed my team, my coach, my family.
In 8th grade I did the same thing.
When I took the written exam for my drivers test, I failed once before I passed. When I took the behind the wheel test, I failed.
In college, I failed tests. Didn’t pass classes.
Lost more basketball games.
I’ve had failed book releases.
I’ve seen a few reviews on
Amazon for my books that weren’t kind. They weren’t constructive. The kind that made my stomach turn and made me question why I write in the first place.
I failed a lot at life in my alcoholism. Too ashamed to admit I had a problem. I almost let it take my life away.
But life isn’t about failure. It’s about what we do after we fail.
I always got back up. I dusted myself off, and worked even harder.
I practiced reading every single night. I wasn’t going to be the only kid in 5th grade that couldn’t read.
I practiced free throws and three-pointers an hour before practice and an hour after practice.
I did more reading, practiced my writing craft, educated myself, followed what others had done before me. Attended conferences. Taught workshops. Read more. Took classes. Wrote more. I worked my ass off and hung that review above my writing desk until I didn’t care about her words anymore.
And, finally, I found recovery in my alcoholism on November 9th, 2009. I talk about my alcoholism because it’s a big part of my story.
I. Didn’t. Give. Up.
And I won’t let society define what failure and success means to me.
I get to decide.
My biggest failures, my greatest heartaches, have become my greatest assets.
And success, to me, is defined as being better today than I was yesterday.
That’s it.
And I still fail. And it’s OK.
So for those of you who’ve experienced failure recently, dust yourself off, get to work, and be a better today than you were yesterday.
This title stopped me mid-scroll. As a PhD student who works part-time at Last-Minute Assignments, I think about my own academic heartaches the failed exams, the embarrassed silences. I struggled so much that I’d search for Psychology assignment help just to understand why I kept falling apart. Now I see those low points as my real education. They taught me empathy, patience, and how to truly support someone who’s drowning. Thank you for putting this into words. Our broken places don’t have to stay broken. They can become the very thing that helps others heal. Needed this today.
I liked the message in this post because it showed how painful experiences can later become strengths in life. Many students go through difficult moments but still learn important lessons from them over time. Last year was very stressful for me with family problems and exams, so I used best online class help service during one online course to stay caught up. Reading honest stories like this can really encourage people to keep going.