Failures are lessons that strengthen you

We all seek success in life. You would hardly find anyone who is not upset with failure. However, we all have different definitions of success in different aspects of life. If we don’t achieve what we think is a success, everything seems to fall apart. Whether it is A-plus in all subjects or getting to go to a good university; whether it is promotion in your company or a better life partner; we want to achieve success in everything that we do.

Do you know that failure isn’t as bad as we see it? It is more a matter of perceiving it negatively. Moreover, inside your brain, neurologically, every time you go through some challenges, rough experiences, or face failure, your neural pathways change through a process called ‘synaptic plasticity’. Specifically, experience-dependent plasticity where synapses or connections between neurons are strengthened and developed. With every loss and failure, your brain literally reshapes and adapts itself to become better equipped for the next challenge or harder scenario.

Even our body is made in a way that it reconstructs itself for upcoming challenges. That is what vaccines do, and the our immune system is all about that. We can train our mind to rearrange our beliefs and empower ourselves to take failures in a positive way and learn the lesson from them. When your brain and body can do it, your mind also can do it because it is the mind that controls the brain and the brain controls the body. Each failure is a life lesson that makes you more experienced, strengthens your abilities, and reduces the chances of similar types of failures. Just as we have an immune system in our body to fight foreign bodies and to protect the system, similarly, we have a mental immune system that boosts our self-esteem and self-trust.

So if you have experienced rejection or failure or are facing a tough situation now, don’t worry. Accept the challenge. Get comfortable with it as you have enormous power within you to face any situation. Look objectively and learn a lesson from it. Utilise the strength and be experienced with what that failure is trying to teach you because mentally and neurologically, you stand to do better next time for sure.

Courtesy: Rajyoga Meditation Center, Kingston (meditation courses and counselling are offered free of charge). Email: kingston@jm.brahmakumaris.org. Or follow on Instagram: rajyoga_meditation_jamaica