How To Overcome Failure and Live Happily Ever After
By: Daria Sh.
Tags: Life Lessons, Lifehacks, Fear Of Failure, Life Hacking, Wellbeing

For the whole adult life, I’ve known myself for running marathons. I am a typical go-getter who will not settle for anything less than perfect. The thought of not making it equals to me lying in a death bed and hearing from my future kids that I was a bad mother. I feel excited and anxious when I know that I have a big to-do list for the day, anticipating my upcoming productive work. My life is constructed around the concept of “Rise and Grind” with rare inclusions of romantic moments.

I’ve been quite enjoying to bask in the idea of concentrating my life on more socially proved “meaningful” things than living mindfully. I was pretty good at handling my chaotic, anxious, and highly-functioning mind up until one moment. You know that very moment when everything falls apart. You lose your job, your imaginary boyfriend breaks up with you and your best friend tells you that she was the one who accidentally spilled red wine on your rented dress at the prom. Jokes aside, when shit hits the fan, you know it.

That happened to me a week ago. I was lounging in the dreams of my highly promising future, making new plans, and waiting for the response about my new article for a big media outlet from one editor. I knew that if I get published there, the doors to worldwide journalism will be opened for me. I bet on this one so much I put my heart and mind on the line to make it work. Well, the law of attraction played a corny joke with me, and when I got the response from the editor, the possibility of publishing has taken the form of one big question.

I could feel that I was losing ground under my feet. Never have I ever wished for something so much and worked for it so hard to get it done like this article. It was clearly a failure. I couldn’t believe that I lost this incredible opportunity due to some professional complications. Guess what? This event has 100% affected my mood for the rest of my week. I became gloomy, disappointed, and, as a matter of fact, really self-conscious about continue making a career in journalism. As soon as I got the unpleasant feedback, I started crying, eating matcha chocolate, and watching my favorite cartoons. I lost the productivity I valued so much in my life.

In the middle of watching the 5th cartoon in a row, I sensed that something deeply wrong was happening to me. Why would I let one event provoke creating a low-energy atmosphere for the rest of the week? What about other small and big joyful things I was obliviously losing out my sight? That’s not fair. I had to start taking care of my emotions and not let small failures command the narrative of my mood. If you can control your emotions, you can control your mind and, hence, your future.

Meditation helps. A lot. In the era of social media and the absolute disruption of your attention, meditation is a breath of fresh air for your sanity. There are many different ways to start meditating, although, during this activity, you have to be as honest as possible. What are your biggest concerns in life? Why can’t you get rid of annoying patterns in your routine? How to manage the stress you are coping with at this stage of your life? Ask yourself questions and you will get answers because they are within you.

Do fun things. I dyed my hair blue & purple because I felt like it. There is nothing more rewarding than being true to yourself and expressing your multi-faceted personality by doing fun stuff. Do you do rap, ecstatic dance, or sudoku? Please, continue collecting all those things that put a smile on your face and get you in high spirits. Life is short at the end of the day, enjoy it!

Timing always right. My bestie once told me “Why are you rushing to get things done? Maybe they want to happen later.” That hit me. After hearing such simple yet brilliant truth, I started questioning myself ‘Who said the faster the better?’. No one. That’s just the pace we choose to live at. We surround ourselves with people, media, and the overall environment that exalts hurry to the point of mental breakdown. I can’t live in such a way, I simply miss out on the larger picture of my life. That’s why I decided to take one step at a time and invest in me now, rather than letting myself get in a trap of running circles to fulfill my purpose.

We all work hard. We all fail. We all want to be better and do whatever it takes to make it happen. But you can’t forget that life is just canvas, and if you think you painted something wrong, that’s how it should be. Your life is art. You can’t mess art up.

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