DEALING WITH FAILURE 4
Dealingwith Failure
Dealingwith Failure
Mylife has been a conscious journey of accepting the situations that Icannot change and working towards improving myself to respondappropriately to these situations. This has shaped my perceptionstowards failure. I consider failure an experience rather than aconclusion. This approach has opened up my mind to the lessons thatevery experience offers. In the Christmas of 2014, I was in the houseenjoying the surprises of Christmas gifts when I heard my motherwailing from the upstairs. This was a traumatizing incident happeningon such a merry day. My father came down and informed me that mymaternal grandfather had died of cardiac arrest. My mother wasdealing with grief and guilt. That morning, she has postponed callingmy grandfather. The old man had been begging us to move to his home.
Mygrandfather’s death changed the course of my life. We moved fromSanta Rosa beach Florida to my grandparent’s home to take care ofmy elderly grandmother. There was a new physical environment to adaptto. I had to enroll to a new school and also get intertwined inanother family that I had not lived with. I failed to fully preparefor these challenges that come with change (Burnison, 2011).
Failingto prepare for this change of environment affected my relationshipwith my grandmother. I had pre-concluded that people practicefairness as a norm. In Santa Rosa beach Florida, I had lived in afamily setting where everyone had a sense of belonging. This hadinsulated me from the possibilities of a family where I would bedenied basic things. There was a degrading incident when we had comefrom school hungry and my grandmother gave a fast food hamburger tomy cousin while ignoring me.
Mygrandmother was not willing to fully accept me into the family. Shedenied me occupancy to the master bedroom even when my cousin who wasthe previous occupant had moved out. She constantly taunted andemotionally abused me and my siblings. There were numerous caseswhere she did not treat me the way she would treat my cousins. I wasdenied access to resources that I had earlier assumed I was entitledto. This affected my attitude towards our new home. I did notappreciate the exposure that comes with change. My grandmother’sindifference was a constant challenge yet I had to respect her.
Failureto blend well into the new environment affected relationships in thefamily. Despite my grandmother’s difficult personality being aconstant challenge, I was able to rise above the challenges andfashion a normal lifestyle. I enrolled in the local high school andperfectly dealt with meeting new friends and adjusting to my newenvironment. I got information on the unpleasant way my grandmotherhad treated my mother in the past and used this as an avenue tounderstand her personality.
Inconclusion, this experience taught me the value of gatheringinformation about the situations or experiences that I am exposed to.This has made me curious in understanding people and what informstheir conduct. I consider this a valuable skill in changing theworld. The constant exposure to unfairness opened up my imaginationto a world where the universally accepted ideals are not practicedand the need to pursue common good for humanity. Although weeventually went back to our home in Santa Rosa beach Florida, livingin my grandparent’s house was a lesson in resilience rather thanself-pity. I acquired an accommodative personality which will make mea better student, friend, and parent.
References
Burnison,G. (2011). No fear of failure: Rea stories of how leaders deal withrisk and change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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