26A- Celebrating Failure
1. The time I failed
As a freshman, I was eager to apply to a bunch of clubs and business organizations so that I could really get my foot in the door as I started my college career. There is a business organization called Florida Leadership Academy which is a great organization to be in and is pretty competitive. I applied to FLA at the end of my freshman year and ended up getting an interview. I went to see CAP mentors for a mock interview and even asked current members for any advice and tips that they could give me. After my interview, I was sure that I had done very well and that I would be selected. A few days went by when I finally received an email with an update. I did not get into FLA and I was very upset. At the time, it was pretty much the only organization I wanted to be in and the only one that, at the time, seemed to be of any interest to me.
2. What I learned
It wasn't until a few weeks later that I learned that this was one of the best things that could have happened to me. Although it is cliche, I began to slowly realize that everything truly does happen for a reason. For those of you in the business school, there is no doubt that there is a culture of success and hunger for validity. It is easy to get caught up in the business school culture, and it is even easier to feel like you are lagging behind when everyone seems to be having everything fall into place. Upon reflection, I was able to realize that just because I didn't get into one organization out of so many within the business school did not mean I was any less than anyone else. It just meant that FLA wasn't for me, and that is completely OK! Because I wasn't in FLA, I realized that I would have more time to dedicate to other clubs, so I decided to apply to Heavener Leadership Challenge and Business Undergraduate Mentorship Program. I got into both of those and I absolutely have loved every second of it. If I hadn't gotten turned away from FLA, I would never have applied to these organizations. My biggest takeaway was realizing that although one door was closed, a ton of other doors opened. I now had the opportunity to participate in more things that I loved and would never have been a part of if I had been admitted into FLA.
3. Reflect
Although it is really hard sometimes to accept the fact that you have failed at something, no matter how big or small it may be, it ultimately turns out in the best way. In retrospect, everything is much easier, and situations don't sound half as bad as they really were. But being able to reflect on failed experiences gives you the comfort of knowing that you did not fail, you just learned something new. To be completely honest, failure sucks. It isn't fun in absolutely any aspect and usually makes us feel really bad about ourselves. Regardless, it is important to not lose sight of the end goal, no matter what that is. The way I handle failure is through a reflection of past failures. I sit down and I think about times when I have failed and then I recalibrate and analyze where I am at now. If those things hadn't happened to me, I would not be in the position where I am now. Realizing that I was once able to move on from failure and keep going gives me the strength to be able to do that again. This class has definitely made me more open to taking risks in the future. I believe that taking risks makes us grow because it challenges us when we are scared. We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and the only way to do that is to always step out of your comfort zone and take risks as they present themselves.
As a freshman, I was eager to apply to a bunch of clubs and business organizations so that I could really get my foot in the door as I started my college career. There is a business organization called Florida Leadership Academy which is a great organization to be in and is pretty competitive. I applied to FLA at the end of my freshman year and ended up getting an interview. I went to see CAP mentors for a mock interview and even asked current members for any advice and tips that they could give me. After my interview, I was sure that I had done very well and that I would be selected. A few days went by when I finally received an email with an update. I did not get into FLA and I was very upset. At the time, it was pretty much the only organization I wanted to be in and the only one that, at the time, seemed to be of any interest to me.
2. What I learned
It wasn't until a few weeks later that I learned that this was one of the best things that could have happened to me. Although it is cliche, I began to slowly realize that everything truly does happen for a reason. For those of you in the business school, there is no doubt that there is a culture of success and hunger for validity. It is easy to get caught up in the business school culture, and it is even easier to feel like you are lagging behind when everyone seems to be having everything fall into place. Upon reflection, I was able to realize that just because I didn't get into one organization out of so many within the business school did not mean I was any less than anyone else. It just meant that FLA wasn't for me, and that is completely OK! Because I wasn't in FLA, I realized that I would have more time to dedicate to other clubs, so I decided to apply to Heavener Leadership Challenge and Business Undergraduate Mentorship Program. I got into both of those and I absolutely have loved every second of it. If I hadn't gotten turned away from FLA, I would never have applied to these organizations. My biggest takeaway was realizing that although one door was closed, a ton of other doors opened. I now had the opportunity to participate in more things that I loved and would never have been a part of if I had been admitted into FLA.
3. Reflect
Although it is really hard sometimes to accept the fact that you have failed at something, no matter how big or small it may be, it ultimately turns out in the best way. In retrospect, everything is much easier, and situations don't sound half as bad as they really were. But being able to reflect on failed experiences gives you the comfort of knowing that you did not fail, you just learned something new. To be completely honest, failure sucks. It isn't fun in absolutely any aspect and usually makes us feel really bad about ourselves. Regardless, it is important to not lose sight of the end goal, no matter what that is. The way I handle failure is through a reflection of past failures. I sit down and I think about times when I have failed and then I recalibrate and analyze where I am at now. If those things hadn't happened to me, I would not be in the position where I am now. Realizing that I was once able to move on from failure and keep going gives me the strength to be able to do that again. This class has definitely made me more open to taking risks in the future. I believe that taking risks makes us grow because it challenges us when we are scared. We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and the only way to do that is to always step out of your comfort zone and take risks as they present themselves.
Hi Rebeca,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story. I was thinking about joining clubs and other organizations to bolster my experiences and to network. Honestly, I've been pushing it off because of my fear of failure. After reflecting on my post and others' posts on celebrating failure, I'm starting to see failure differently. Although failure is frustrating, it can produce a lot of benefits if you're willing to look at it from multiple perspectives.
Hi Beca,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you final reflection and what you learned made you realize that getting denied from one organization isn't the end of the world! It is hard to see rejection in a positive light, but it sounds like you took it as a learning experience and you were able to use it as motivation for your other organizations! I think this is a learning curve that a lot of people experience in college.
Hi Beca,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I also firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. I can pin point many examples of failure in my life that have turned out for the better in the long run. I am so glad that instead of giving up on your search, you continued and found a great fit!
Hey Beca,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! Failure is kind of hard sometimes, and not getting into the club you wanted is almost like not getting a job you really wanted. I too think everything happens for a reason, and I am glad you were able to do that and to find something that made you even better off than getting into the original club would have!