The day started with excitement. I was on a high giving a speech in front of one of the walls in my house. I was preparing for my Area Contest speech in Toastmasters. I was all set. Well prepared. Timed the clock. The speech fell within the right timeframe. Everything was great.
I got ready with my family. We popped in the car and drove to the place. I arrived earlier than the usual time.
Butterflies were flying from top to bottom and realized I had to align myself for a speech delivery. I rehearsed in the stage once and understood that I was thorough with my words and speech. I was all set.
The Contest began. I picked one from the lot box and found to be the third contestant. I had a gulp of water, soothed my throat and was ready. My name called, I entered the stage and started speaking to the fullest tone. Afffff! I did it.
Rest of the Contestants also spoke well. It was a tough fight. After all the speeches, we were waiting for the results. I had the expectation to win the contest. Finally, the time came to declare the results. I was waiting for my name to pronounce in the top 3 list. Obviously, all the other contestants also would have thought the same. I was disappointed when my name was not there in the top 3 winners. Everyone came and congratulated me for the performance. But I couldn't digest the fact that I didn't win.
I stood there thinking myself foolish. I couldn't handle the fact that I lost. Failure haunted me. I decided I should not be contesting anymore. All the negative thoughts came and occupied me in the first sense. After a lengthy discussion with my friends, I came back home. After coming back home, I sat with myself and analyzed the reasons.
There was a video from a friend explaining the rise of KFC founder Harland Sanders at the age of 65 years and the video end with the lines, "It's never too old to dream". I sat for a while thinking about the same. After seeing a great story, my story looked minuscule in size. I was thinking that I was the only loser on the planet.
What am I going to get if I worry about the lost prize for a long time? But, If I can get up and do my work which is left behind I can at least step forward. That moment I realized, failure doesn't mean, the world has come to an end and locked the door permanently. That is a phase in life, and that is not the end of life. In the moment of failure, think about all that you succeeded in life. Then the thought of failure will be gone.
As parents, our responsibility is not only making our children succeed in life but also help them understand that failure is not that bad as the world perceives every time. If Harland sanders have stopped trying after his first failure, KFC would not have born. Every failure is a stepping stone for success. When we fail, all we need to do is what is my learning from the failure and move on. Don't sit and stare the same for a long time. Some things did not work out for the right reason and when you deserve the same, success will knock your door. Until then, keep working hard and dream.
