When Plan A Fails

Nobody starts up a business or any venture with the plan to fail, but sometimes failure is inevitable in life.

Failure doesn't always mean you are not good at something or that you are ill-prepared, external forces can run you down too. Some  of us have failed so many times, failed courses, started out in business and lost our money, gone into relationships and marriages and it failed. It can be really painful and in many cases, makes us doubt ourselves and our capabilities. Failing is not the worst part, it is letting failure define who we are.

One of the the biggest barriers both men and women face in their careers today is the internal struggle with past failures. Dear friend, before you pack up your bags and declare yourself a failure who has nothing else to offer the world, I want you to know that most of the successful people we hear their names today have failed not once, not twice. I know I'm not famous yet, so let me tell you now that I failed Math in school, remember to put it in my Biography when I make it. LoL.

I read somewhere about a soldier who went to to war with his men, when they got to the enemy territory, he asked his men to burn their ships and that the only option they had was to win the battle, they went ahead and won. This is one way of looking at life and the challenges we face, everybody doesn't have the heart of a gladiator.  I believe in having backup plans. Girls are very good with this backup game, especially when it comes to relationships, I'm just saying ohhhh, Its not that  your own 'bae' has a backup plan, I don't have too.

In our world today, we have a backup plan for almost everything, we backup our phones so we don't lose important contacts, we have generators and inverters in case the light goes off (oshe PHCN), two phones so we can always be reached, even two hearts in case someone decides to break one (hehe). But then we forget to backup our goals and plans. That is why when someone fails in business, they feel it is the end of the world.

Failure is part of the process, we fail and we learn and try not to make the same mistake again. Failure is only fatal when you do not pick anything from it and keep repeating the same mistakes. When you fail at something, giving up shouldn't be the next thing, you should try to figure out what led to it and make conscious effort to correct it and stop it from happening again. For instance, you started a small business and it failed, check how you managed your finances, if you were getting money and 'chopping' it, then it is time to think through and find out ways to cut down on excesses. If you are in school and you fail a course, instead of cursing out your lecturer or feeling sorry for yourself, find out what really happened, take responsibility and try harder. That was how I passed Math, put that down in my biography too.

Failure is not something to be ashamed of, it is an important part of the journey, when you  fall seven times try to rise eight times. If Soichiro Honda gave up because his plan A failed, we won't have those 'evil spirit' Hondas that I love. If Vera Wang decided to go to her room and never tried something else because her Olympic dreams didn't come to fruition, we won't have those beautiful wedding dresses every girl wants to wear. The list goes on and on.

Always remember to backup your source of income. Multiple streams of income will guarantee that you don't go back to the drawing board.

I understand going forward after a failure can be really difficult, but staying back and wallowing in self pity won't make it better, in fact it makes it worse. So dearie, before you give up, remember A is just one of the alphabets, you have twenty-five more. I know for a fact that before you get to M, you would have figured something out. Do not give up on yourself just yet, you are destined for greatness.

"Accept it, don’t feel ashamed. Learn from it, and bounce back. Move on. I know it’s easier said than done, but I’ve gone through my lot of failures myself and I think the best way is to get a grip on yourself and reflect on why you failed, and then just move on"
- Christine Lagarde (MD International Monetary Fund)

Adanna Elechi
connect with me on IG and twitter: @adee_elechi
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