Dealing with failure

Failure is a part of life. Anyone who has achieved anything great will tell you that failing is a part of the process, and the real test is how you pick yourself back up after failing. Dealing with failure, however, is a lot easier said than done. We all have failed and will fail later in life, but it doesn’t make dealing with failure any less difficult. Something someone once said to me helped put everything in perspective, and should be relevant for a lot of you as my demographic is mainly younger people - when you are young, everything is worse as it is the first time you are experiencing things like proper failure, growing up, emotions and simply life. As you grow and mature, you learn to deal with these things and at least have your past memories to look back upon, but being a young person and experiencing these things for the first time is hard. This week’s blog will be about dealing with failure in the light of some A Level resit results coming out on the 16th of December. 

1. Recognise and accept what you are feeling

Failing does not feel good, regardless of how many times you’ve been through it, especially when you’ve worked hard for something. Sometimes, your best at that time isn’t good enough and that’s a hard pill to swallow. You need to accept that you’re not going to feel great for a bit, that you haven’t succeeded in what you want to do and most importantly, to allow yourself to feel whatever you’re feeling in order to process it healthily. 

2. Find healthy coping mechanisms

Finding things to do that allow you to rest a bit, but also things that keep you busy and your mind occupied. Exercise is important - it is vital for mental health and releases endorphins which makes you feel good. Invest time in your hobbies, whatever they may be, and make sure that they activate different parts of your brain than your work in order to fully take your mind off it. 

3. Talk to people

Talking to people is the most important thing, even if they are not mental health professionals. Sharing the burden can help you deal and process it, and also just knowing that there are people there to support you and help you through the process. Talking to a professional can also help as they can advise you on your next steps and the best ways to cope and deal with it.

4. Take your time

Things like this are not going to be solved overnight, and ignoring your feelings is only going to make it worse in the long term. Taking time off to chill, relax and regain your footing can be incredibly beneficial in not only dealing with failure in a healthy way and avoiding bad coping mechanisms but also it can be a great way to motivate yourself to spring back after the failure if you’ve given yourself a proper period of rest.

Remember, be gentle on yourself, and asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness!