Celebrating Failure

I failed for about 16 days this semester. It happened in January and I completely cracked. I was overwhelmed with the start of new classes, commitment to my involvement, and some other personal issues I was dealing with. I failed at keeping everything together. During those 16 days, it seemed as if I failed at something each day. From forgetting about an exam to being late to work, I was failing at life in general for 16 days. I would wake up with a tightness in my chest and the inability to breathe normally because I had so much anxiety that I was late to something or had to be somewhere at that time. Every email, call, and text I received sent my heart racing. I was on edge because I knew I had too much going on at once. 

I learned that spreading yourself too thin WILL LITERALLY TRY TO KILL YOU. I learned that it is not normal to wake up with difficulty breathing. I learned it is ok to say no to people and it is even more ok to ask for help when needed.

Failure absolutely sucks. The only good that comes with failure is what you learn from it. Thankfully I know now to take a step back and prevent myself from ever having another "16 days" situation. I handle failure in such a weird way. I don't like talking about it and I don't like burdening people with my problems. During those 16 days, probably no one knew I was losing my mind. It was only until after those 16 days were over that I was able to share what was going on. This class didn't really change my perspective on failure. It only made me aware of the fact that entrepreneurs must fail in order to perfect what they want to come to fruition. I'm always willing to take a *smart* risk. I'd rather do/say something than always wonder "what if."