We have all been there. You study so hard for an exam and stay up all night practicing that presentation. You flip through hundreds of flashcards working tirelessly just to make sure you have it perfect, and you get that grade back, and it’s much less than what you were hoping for.

Trust me, I have been there more times than I can count, and the feeling never gets better. 

It feels like the end of the world, and this one low mark on a test is a true tell sign of the end of any chance at a career, money, and life after college. 

Yet when you think about it, some of the biggest successes in the world have failed at some point in their lives. Take Lady Gaga for example, She signed to a label at 19, and within just three months, she was dropped from the label without warning. That pushed Gaga to push even harder and build the iconic persona she has today. 

On a college level, we are always pressured to maintain high GPAs, insane extracurriculars to build resumes, and on top of all that, the perfect social life to post on Instagram to share with your family back home. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect that when we do hit a setback, it feels way worse than it needs to.

Now, I’m not saying we should aim to mess up or stop striving for success. What I am saying is that challenges and mistakes are a natural part of growth. Instead of seeing them as permanent setbacks, we should use them as fuel to push ourselves further and come back even stronger.

I also think fear plays a major role in all of this. You’re more likely to fail if fear is holding you back. 

Taking risks is a huge part of life just as much as failure is, and even though the chance of failure is always there, the chances of you growing and getting something amazing out of it always outweigh the chance of failure by a huge margin.  

In the future, when you’re studying, and you feel that huge wave of doubt coming over you. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this,” or “I know I’m going to fail,” say, “I’m still figuring this out.” That will instill a huge growth mindset over a fixed mindset, and while I’m not saying you’re going to reach that goal right away. Your effort will be 10 times stronger than before, and I promise no matter the outcome, you will feel better about yourself. 

At the end of the day, failure is only as powerful as we allow it to be. One bad test or one embarrassing moment during a presentation in class does not define your intelligence, your potential, or your future. The truth is, everyone fails—even the most successful people we look up to. 

What separates those who grow from their failures from those who let them hold them back is mindset.

So, the next time you fail—whether it’s on an exam, a presentation, or even just a personal goal—take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is part of the process, not the end of the world. The way you fail doesn’t define who you are, but the way you react to it, and how you go about it does.

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