Failure

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default. Wise people encourage failure, not because perfection isn't admirable, but as humans, failure is a stepping stone.

The more we fail to try because we are afraid of failure, the more we fail by default because we remain redundant to growth. As long as we are trying, failure is inevitable, by them we learn what works and what doesn't and through failures we judge how much we have worked.

Image generated using Gemini AI

I enrolled into a science school after my junior secondary. In my former school I was the best student in mathematics, yet I did not know basic principles that enforce certain problem solving in maths. I failed woefully in my first mathematics class work for the first time. It was strange to me but I knew I knew nothing in mathematics.

This period challenged me to learn maths not for the sake of passing an examination like I was used to, but to learn for the purpose of knowing. It wasn't easy but I accepted my failures and learned. Just before graduation, I became one of the best students in mathematics, not from guess work but a seat of knowledge.

It was evidence that failure sharpens us to be who we want to be. If one always passes, it means he's not improving or he is not trying new things. Try and fail, but don't fail to try.