In our busy lives in the 21st century, people often talk too much about success and too little about failure. They try hard to have the best job and the most comfortable life they can get. But what if failure knocks on their door? Is that really a bad thing? I was inspired to write about this topic by J.K. Rowling’s speech at Harvard Commencement – that’s what American’s call the speech given to students in college graduation ceremonies. As contradictory as it may seem, J.K. Rowling took this opportunity to give valuable insights into the importance of failure.
“Some failure in life is inevitable”, she says. Every human being has failed or will fail in some area: career, relationship, health, finances etc. But that doesn’t mean you’re a loser! She tells the graduates that what she feared most at their age was not poverty, but failure. Sure enough, few years later, she reached rock bottom: after a failed marriage, she was a jobless lone parent and “as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain without being homeless”. Even though it wasn’t comfortable and fun, she adds she was set free, because her greatest fear had been realized, and she was still alive, had a daughter, an old typewriter and a big idea. That motivated her to start writing books and go after her dream of becoming a writer. Could she or anyone else have imagined who she would become? The author of the much-loved series of seven Harry Potter novels, with more than 500 million books sold all over the world in 80 languages.
Her most powerful quote that hit me was: “Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged”. For me, it was switching careers. How about you? Was your hardship getting fired, opening a business, learning English, getting a divorce? For her, rock bottom became the solid foundation on which she rebuilt her life.
She also claims that we will never truly know ourselves or the strength of our relationships until both have been tested by adversity. For sure, when life is cool and easy, we’re surrounded by buddies and get many party invitations. However, when things get hard, we barely have a handful of friends. Therefore, we should always believe in ourselves and take care of the people who will remind us of that whenever we forget it.
So the takeaway is: when failure visits you, embrace it. Look at it as a great opportunity to learn and grow. Every day we’re given the chance to become the best version of ourselves. Be grateful and get over it as saying goodbye to an old friend. There is no failure that will hold you back unless you allow it, and if you really believe that failure is just success in progress, you will be able to see go through it from a completely different perspective,
If you enjoyed this article and also want to practice your listening skills, check out J.K. Rowling’s speech on YouTube (J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHGqp8lz36c )