"He used to be a singer in a rock and roll band.
He would write the songs and I'd tremble at his hand but oh, la laa.
He lost poetic ethic and his songs were pathetic, and he's a failure now.
He used to be the life and soul of everyone around.
You'd never catch him looking up and never see him down but oh, la laa.
He couldn't raise a smile oh, not for a while, and he's a failure now.
Don't cry child, you've got so much more to live for.
Don't cry child, you've got something I would die for
And if it comes to the rain, just be glad you'll smile again
'Cause so many don't.
And so many go unnamed."
Laura Marling's song Failure, more or less summarizes my blog post today. So, why failure as a topic out of the blue, you might ask. And I would reply why not summarize the condition of the whole world in a world - FAIL! Too pessimistic? Maybe, but not really.
Lets first see what failure actually is - "Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success". Too heavy? You bet! That was copied straight out of Wikipedia. To me, failure is basically not getting what you thought you would get. You mug a lot the week before the exam, give a thumbs up paper and when the results are hung on the college notice board, you feel like - Damn! I passed, but I am a failure... And in another instance, you don't even bother to study for the impending exam, give a crap paper and you end up getting a 40, when you didn't even think you would get a double digit score. You say "Yeah I failed, but who gives a damn!"
My point, friends, is that Failure is a very subjective topic. What is failure to one person, is success to another. We fail because we think we have failed. That is the essential difference between having FAILED, and being a FAILURE. When we think we have "failed", its the way the world sees us. And when we think we are a failure, its how we see ourselves.
Ever seen an ant carrying load on its back? It walks, stops, drops its load, picks it up and walks again. Yes, it had failed, but it had not allowed itself to become a failure. Its just that self-confidence that matters. You never know, who might love those very qualities in you which you think made you fail. You are soft spoken, shy, can't express what you want to say exactly - you think you failed because of all these. Somewhere in the corner of this world, there is someone, who likes you just because of that shyness. Someone, who wants to shed their fits of rage and overt expressiveness to be just like you.
Failing is one of the most subjective attributes you will find, like most human attributes are. Do you always love what everyone else loves, see something the same way everyone else sees? Then why think yourself a failure when everyone else does? After all, isn't "We are all unique" a very true cliche? Fail, but don't be a failure. Wouldn't you like to celebrate that success party with toasts to every fails you have crumpled and left behind? So, in true Bollywood style, just place your palm on your heart and say All is Well... it may not do you miracles, but that extra dose of confidence never hurts.
- by a failed blogger, trying to rise above the failures.