Coping with failure

» Failing is part of life

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

[: that time of year. The fes-
tive season is over and the
new year is just beginning. But
some of us are still stuck in

the past. A traumatic incident
involving a less than successful
test and letter grade has frozen
the hearts and minds of these
poor souls.

In my opinion, failing is a
critical part to success. So many
success stories have been built
on the foundation of failure. A
few examples include Michael
Jordan, who was rejected from
his high school basketball team;
Steve Jobs, who was fired from
the company he started; and
Walt Disney, who was fired for
“lacking imagination.”

These great people used
their failures as stepping stones

to their successes, and so should :

you. That slump you find your-

self in is just a part of the longer :
: steps to make sure it happens.
: Maybe you want to find a differ- :
: ent place to study or change the
: way you take notes. Ensure that
: the change sticks.

road to success.

But the transition from
failure to success is not an
easy one. It takes mammoth
amounts of hard work. The
main reason people fail at tran-
sitioning is fatigue. They get
tired, and lose sight of the goal,
or simply burn themselves out

: before the finish line.

Understanding why you

: failed is the most important
: part of failing. The cliché “those :
: who do not understand history
: are doomed to repeat it” applies
: perfectly here. If you don’t un-

: derstand why you failed, and

: you do everything the exact

: same way, you are doomed to

: fail again. Think of it as a math
: equation. If you don’t change

: anything inthe equation, the:
: answer is never going to change. :
: : it is not the end of the road.

: A letter grade may determine

: your final score in a class, but

: definitely not your life. Every

: failed opportunity is a chance

: to learn, and every learning ex-
: perience is a success. Turn your
: failures into success by learning
: from them.

Take a moment to look

: back at the semester and think

: about what you could have done
: differently. Maybe it was an

: extra day that could have been

: dedicated to studying, or maybe
: it was your studying methods.

: It could be a number of things,

: but figuring out and realizing

: what you could have done bet-

: ter is the first step in turning

things around.
Once you realize what you
want or need to change, take

Now with the hard part

: over with, we can look at the
: brighter parts of failure. If you
: failed an important college

: course, fear not. Take it again;
: you may have failed the first
: time, but now you have a semes-

ter’s worth of understanding.

: What seemed difficult at the

: beginning of the course last

: time may be trivial the second
: time around now that you un-

: derstand the big picture. You

: have an opportunity to take

: what you learned the first time
: and grow.

The most important part to
remember about failing is that

An “F” means that you have

: failed to understand the course
: material, but it does not mean
: you are incapable of learning it.
: Take what you know and go at
: it again. Look back at the class,

see what you need to change,

: change it, and try again armed

: with knowledge that you didn’t

: have before. Do not let a letter

: grade stop you from growing as
: an individual. Every success sto-
: ry has a failure story behind it.

: Let this be yours,

  

Image via thinkstock

 

Wealth care

» Your financial well-being is as important as your physical well-being

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
‘we S opinions@theotherpress.ca

Yu may be spending money
on gym memberships,

organic health food, and high-
performance active wear, but,
while on pace to a healthier
life, you are also wasting a lot
of money on items that you
probably don’t need. Running
is good, but running out of
money is scary. Two out of
three people are constantly
worried about money.

While buying healthy
food is an investment in your
prospective health, investment
in your financial future is of
equal importance. You cannot
always anticipate what will
happen in your life and what
role finance will play in the
sudden shift in lifestyle. A loss
of employment, an illness, or an
act of God may eat away at your
savings or push you into debt.

Careless spending—like
poor eating habits—comes
back and bites you later on in
life. We are constantly warned
about why we should not

> consume crappy food. But when:
: it comes to how people spend

: their money altogether, people

: tend to keep comments to

: themselves. In this society, we

: aren't really allowed to criticize
: other people’s spending habits.
: If someone wants to buy video

: games instead of paying rent,

: you can’t stop them. They'll

: get evicted, but it’s still their

: choice. There is no visible

: danger zone when it comes to

: money in this country, because
: at the end of the day Canada is

: built so that no human being

: will starve. When people

: receive money they are free

: to use it however they like.

Nevertheless, if you are

: smart, you would treat your

: money the way you would

: treat your own body. You care
: for it, you utilize it when you

: need to, and you get it to work
: for you. And, over time, you

: strengthen it so that it can

: take care of itself. The same

: way you exercise, you must do
: the same with your funds.

You get physical checkups

: from your doctor and you heed
: their warnings, and you must

    
  

Sy
Uy

ALEEELS

: do the same with financial

: advisors. You don’t need to

: take all of their advice, just

: like how you don’t need to

: take all of your doctor’s advice,
: but a different perspective,

  

th {I
AAEM

ie Si
Mf I Ls qT

: perhaps encumbering,
: may be refreshing.

It’s time we start putting

: our money where it counts.
: We might need to change
: how we see our money. It’s

     

: not the key to fulfillment, but
: a necessity for survival. This

: way, as life progresses, we'll

: have enough to spend on the
: stuff we need and plenty left

: over for the stuff we want.

Illustration by Ed Appleby