Malek Allari | Editor-In-Chief
Failure is a common concept when it comes to life and its aspects. For example, failure is natural in creativity, and as a rule, a creative person should sometimes fail. Moreover, failure is fundamental in learning. Without failure, humankind would have never reached the heights that it is now. When failing and revising what we did wrong, we learn from that failure and fix the problem or error we had done in the previous experiment. Five years ago, during the summer, I received personal training in studying, for I was not a bright student. The teacher there said that everything we do, either small or big, is basically an experiment. The success or failure of that experiment is your background knowledge.
For example, in an exam, if a student has a background knowledge of what the test is about, the success rate of this “experiment” is higher than the student who does not have any background knowledge. That is why failure is essential to learn something new. Upon failure and sometimes the fear of new things, students can be terrified and avoid failure at all costs. However, if students, from their childhood, learn that failure is not something to fear but to embrace, students and the generation that will grow up will not fear failure and start to curse the day they were born. Still, they will learn from that failure and keep themselves in check. After I embraced failure and its consequences, I developed my own quote. “It was wise of me to fail the first time. As for the second time, I was a fool. As for the third time, I am a disgrace,” and it kept me going to learn from my mistakes. It might be harsh to some people, but it worked for me.
We all know that people are different from one another, so we can not support people, either emotionally or mentally, in the same way when they fail. Some people are already counting the risk of failing, but they are not emotionally ready. For example, before seconds of a breakup, a couple might be mentally prepared for the failure of their relationship. Still, when they do break up, they will never be emotionally ready. That is why the heartbreaks. In creativity, an artist might be mentally prepared for the criticism they will receive, but when it becomes too honest and harsh, their emotions will overlap. That is why sometimes artists avoid being criticized and submit their art anonymously.
For me, I never avoided anything to avoid failure. I might have done it once or twice at some point in my life, but it was not as big an issue as any. As a writer, sometimes I would like to avoid criticism, but I would never learn how to prove my writing or have many cliches if I did not receive any. The first time I failed in writing was during my first try in writing a book. It had many cliches, no strong word choice, no imaginary effects, and was simply bland and dull. I did not even finish writing it. The most recent time I failed at writing was when I tried to write a positive story. I usually write stories using the darkest emotions possible, but recently I tried to write a positive one. During my first try, I succeeded.
I wrote a story under the title Precious Smile. I believe it was a success for the first try, but then I tried another one under the title Gentle Kiss, and it ended in failure two times. I am not sure if I want to keep writing under the same title, but I did write another story that was “positive.” When I write, I do not believe that I will fail as long as I tell the story amusingly and entertainingly. The last story I wrote, Screams of a Raging Heart, it was written on a whim. I was in the plan going from the US to Saudi Arabia, and I just had the urge to write something. My failures are something I am proud of, which is why my creativity is as strong as any.
Poems and short stories are my ways to express my creativity. However, I sometimes curse the day that I did not continue to keep on drawing. I love drawing, but I am also bad at it because I did not practice. If I continued practicing, I am confident that I would be a master in writing, reading, and drawing. A combination of a genuinely creative person who fears not failure, but success.
Comments