During my second week as a college student, there was a syllabus quiz to be completed for my Macro class. However, I wasn't too Canvas savvy at that point -- the quiz was due at 8 AM on a Monday, but for some reason I thought I had until 8 PM to turn it in. You could've imagined my surprise when I opened my computer at 5 PM to work on the quiz, and lo and behold, it was already marked as past due. No makeups. I felt a rush of anger and disbelief at myself, how could I let such a thing occur?
Thankfully, everything turned out okay. The professor drops the 2 lowest quiz grades for the semester! I certainly took that experience as a valuable lesson that has aided me ever since -- always pay close attention to due date details. Do things ahead of time to avoid such easy slip-ups. I don't know if I would be so meticulous with details as I am today, had that mistake not occurred back in August. So at the end of the day, I celebrate myself for both the highs and lows.
Failure is something that happens to people at some point or another. However, here's one of my all-time favorite quotes --
"The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried." - Stephen McCranie.
When I first stumbled upon this quote, it resonated deep within me. It ultimately changed the way I perceived failure. Failures are lessons that help us improve for the future. For example -- didn't do so well on a test? Change your study habits. See what went wrong and improve yourself. In entrepreneurship, failing is the way that you learn what works and what doesn't -- therefore, the insights gained are incredibly valuable. Also, without experiencing the lows, you won't appreciate the highs as much when they occur. I think it's important to celebrate all aspects of being an entrepreneur, and learn as much as you can.
Hey Liana, it was an honor and a pleasure to enjoy your assignments this past semester. It is awesome that instead of spending the rest of the semester angry at that one moment where you missed the quiz, you used it as a lesson and became a better student for it. You didn’t let any negative emotions linger and you just got right back to work! Excellent job with everything this semester and I just know that whatever it is that you decide to do post-college, you will be incredibly successful at it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLiana:
ReplyDeleteI read your “Celebrating Failure.” I agree and like how you look at the failure. Especially, you used quote from Stephen McCranie, “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” You are right that failure is something that happens to people at some point or another. Also, failures are lessons that help us improve for the future. Therefore, you will not appreciate the highs as much when occur without experiencing the lows.
Hi Liana, I liked that quote you mentioned. I have had technical problems throughout college. Just this semester my lack of a decent camera meant I could not turn in my first two elevator pitches. This has been a big problem throughout the course for me. Hopefully we can all learn to learn from our failures and grow as people.
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