26A – Celebrating Failure

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

This semester, I have been working tirelessly to get a “victory royale” in a video game called Fortnite, which is a third person shooter game. While this may seem silly, this game is becoming super popular, and winning a game can mean a lot to your status in the video game world. After playing probably fifty games or more, I kept failing to be the last man standing. One of my weaknesses in the game is building forts. There were even a few games where it came down to myself and one other player, and I would get sniped or something else ridiculous. I am a born shooter, and have had experience in shooter games through games such as Call of Duty and others, but this building aspect really kept me from my goal. After practicing day in and out, I now have 4 solo wins and a few wins with a “squad”. If you believe, you can achieve. 

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

After repeated failure, I learned that if you really set your mind to your goals, anything is possible. I also learned that sometimes focusing on your strengths is the way to succeed at something you may be uncomfortable with. In my case, I won my first couple of games by being stealthy rather than building forts. This can be translated to the real world in that perseverance is important, and capitalizing on your strengths can sometimes be even better than trying to improve upon your weaknesses. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

Failure is embarrassing for sure, especially when the others around you are succeeding constantly. I think one thing that I took from my experience is to focus on what I can do to improve upon myself, as well as using my strengths to my advantage. I have always been a resilient person, and usually handle failure in a positive way. When I fail, I make sure to reflect on how I can change to succeed the next time I go around. This class has changed my perspective on failure in that I am more open to taking risks even if I know I may fail. Repeated effort can get you far in life, and comes in handy when learning about entrepreneurship.