By Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah
I have received countless feedbacks regarding the concept of failure and most of the readers cherished it. Greater number of people, mostly youths, are gladdened that failure is not fatal, thus, their request that more light be thrown on it.
Of interesting note, are feedbacks from countless number of our youths who confessed that the subject rescued them from thoughts of suicide. A particular one said he had fixed his suicide the very day I treated the subject that failure is not fatal and he dropped the idea of suicide immediately. As a result, I am treating it again today from different perspective.
My practical take on this is, when you call yourself a failure, you are essentially judging yourself in bad light, saying that you are not good enough. But when you reflect further, you will realize that it is not true. Although, engaging in self-criticism is the doing of your ego, however, ultimate freedom comes when you detach from your ego-centred self and embrace your empty-self devoid of adulterated emotions. Everybody fails but not everybody terms it a failure. Most people term it a lesson.
Trials are not meant to hurt you but to help you grow. This understanding allows you to realize that your perception of any subject-matter is key. And perceptions can very well be flawed, when your mind is clouded and cluttered and your ego, inflated or deflated.
Granted that, it is not possible to rid yourself of your ego but you need to recognize the ego for what it is (picture of your thought about yourself). It therefore, demands that, in making conscious choices, you chose to view yourself from a positive perspective irrespective of your failings rather than let your ego rule your thoughts. You take the lessons for what they are and move on. If you give in to the ridiculous demands of your ego, life becomes an endless game of failure.
It is your reactions to your endless trials that help you develop a deepened consciousness about life and who you are at source. Your responses to life situations provide a good gauge of what your strengths and weaknesses are.
If a major catastrophic event presents itself, then understand that it is because your soul is ready for the next level of growth. So, you respond to the situation with grace. You meet your most difficult trial-to-date with courage. A lightened perspective to things is also helpful. You laugh at the idiosyncrasies of life and count them as lessons.
It helps me put a positive reframe to my perspective of my challenges. There is no such thing as failure, only lessons and feedbacks. We learn as much from failures as we learn from successes.
* Dr. Ogah is the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development.