Learning From Failure
Failure: a term meaning not being able to achieve a goal, being unsuccessful, or simply when something does not go as planned.
Meet Paloma Figueroa, a professional girl boss unafraid of challenges.
It’s a thing that many of us are afraid to experience. We do not want to endure the feeling of not thriving and having things break down around us. Failing is never a part of our plans, and sometimes we don't know what to do when it actually happens.
Paloma Figueroa, an Elon senior, tells us about her experience with failure in college, and how she did not let it overcome her.
Figueroa also defines failure as not being able to accomplish a goal or plan. However, she mentions that your failures should not define you or your success.
She expressed her own past experience with failures in college. For Figueroa, not meeting her desired grade point average during her first year was her personal “failure.” She remembers feeling disappointed and unfulfilled.
Even though this happened, Figueroa learned to stop and let herself reflect.
“I had to remember that I had been out of school for a year before attending my first year at Elon,” she said. “I lost a lot of the habits and routines I had acquired while being at school, such as being used to studying and doing homework every day.”
After reflecting and not letting this get to her, she began to work extra hard.
It was a matter of adjusting her habits and figuring out how to manage her time more wisely. She continued to work hard and to tell herself that her grades did not define her. It was all a learning experience.
Now, “failure” is defined differently for Figueroa.
Pictured above are fearless leaders Figueroa and company at the Intersect Conference.
“I have learned that these failures don't define who I am and that everyone goes through failures, and our failures are what help us grow and mold us into who we are. They are learning lessons,” she said.
When asked what she would say to her younger self now, Figueroa said she would tell herself “not to be so hard on yourself!”
She mentions that, yes, there were things that she needed to manage more wisely. But she also mentioned she didn’t let setbacks rule her. Instead, she focused on the positive aspects of what brought her to where she is.
For her, those positive things included the pride in being a first-generation college student and acknowledging that she will continue to be challenged along the way.
Now, she’s telling you the same thing -- to not be so hard on yourself and know that college is, literally and metaphorically, a learning experience.
“Everyone experiences failures, and although they might suck at the moment and we might not feel our best, they allow us to grow,” Figueroa said.
So during this time of exams and last minute touches on final projects, take a moment to breathe.
Figueroa lets us know that failures are lessons, and it is up to us to make sure we learn from them. Our failures do not define us or make us any less. No one is perfect.
“Failing is part of life and how we learn to be who we are,” she said.