The Value of Failure?

Growing up, I was a huge theatre kid. I auditioned for every musical theatre show I could get my hands on and 9 times out of 10, I got my first choice role (which usually was the leading role). For 15 years, it seemed like I couldn’t lose - the dream parts came rolling in, I was given special opportunities to perform at galas and assorted events and I received tons of positive feedback. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty darn great about myself by the end of high school!

However, then I went to university and was suddenly no longer the big fish in my pond. My thought process was simple - I had worked hard for the opportunities given to me previously. So, keep working hard and those opportunities will continue to present themselves. Well, they didn’t. In my first year of university, I auditioned for show after show and didn’t get a single role. All of a sudden it felt as if the thing I thought I was meant to do was rejecting me. I had a rough year coming to terms with why this thing I thought I was so good at didn’t seem to work anymore. It was the first time I had ever experienced significant failure and let me tell you, it was a tough pill to swallow.?

But here’s the thing, after throwing myself a bit of a pity party, I didn’t want just to sit around and leave that part of my life behind. Theatre had made me into who I am and I was not willing to throw that away over a bruised ego. So I picked myself up, started practicing even harder, and put myself back out there. Because I realized something important, the only person who could let these failures bring me down was myself. And after several months of failure in auditioning, I finally booked my first role a few months into my second year of university. Don’t get me wrong, there were still more failures throughout my four years of university, but it didn’t seem to hurt as much as it used to and made receiving roles in shows that much sweeter.?

It may seem like a small thing, but learning how to fail is a skill that has been mostly wiped out due to society's constant need to strive for perfection. But I say perfection is boring! The misconception is that failure is often viewed as a weakness, when in fact I believe it is the exact opposite - failure is an opportunity for growth and to build strength. So embrace the failed tests, failed relationships, and failures in life. They can better you in the future if you let them! Learn to sit in the discomfort - it’s a hard thing to do but the discomfort will not be permanent.?

This is the most valuable life lesson I have taken with me as I move through my early adult years. It is a sentiment I have taken with me to my jobs working at camp and now in my professional life and it has only helped me succeed. You may get knocked down, but you pick yourself back up again and come back stronger than ever. Chances are, your peers will admire you a lot for accepting these failures and you may even inspire some others to follow in your footsteps.?