In the part one of this article, I related to you how I failed in my mathematics exam during my first semester in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Despite the failure, and in the midst of a feeling to give up, I pressed on and made an ‘A’ in the second semester. How did I do it? The part 2 of this article tells us how. I hope you learn valuable lessons from them.
1. Thank God for all things.
I know this might sound like a cliché. But I believe it wouldn’t be a repeated line if it has no significance in our lives. I always believe that nothing in life just happens. And every single incident happens for a reason. Most often, due to the pain and emotional trauma we experience in the face of failure, we forget to know what lessons God wants us to learn. When you thank God, you’re not thanking Him that the incident happened; but rather, that you’re grateful He will take you through it. That is the essence of thanking God.
2. Self-motivation
There’s always a natural feeling of a loss of self-confidence after suffering a major or minor failure in life. Every failure; major or minor, bring with them a loss in our self-confidence. You’ll always think there’s nothing good you can ever do. You’ll hear all the negative voices of what a bad person you are at what you attempted doing.
But should you remain in that state of low self-confidence? Absolutely not! You can’t afford to be in that state the rest of your life. You’ve got to wake up from the dirt, clean yourself, and try one more time. It’s not easy, but you’ve got to do it. And remember, the best form of motivation is that which comes from within. External motivation has its limits. Is it easy to self-motivate yourself? Of course not! Until you demonstrate strong mental fortitude, you can’t do it.
Here is what I found quite helpful; I began to relive the good memories of my splendid performance in mathematics in high school. I reminded myself of the fantastic comments my teachers passed about my performances. They were good memories which brought smiles to my face. And they brought me an inner feeling of strength and vitality. I was regaining my self-confidence with time. It took quite a while to do. I also spoke to myself on a daily basis of what a good mathematics student I was.
3. Put the problem in perspective
I could have given up on the idea to make an ‘A’ in the second semester. I could have just decided to read the course any how I deemed fit and wrote the examination how I pleased. But no! I couldn’t have done that. You know why? Because I knew if I performed woefully again, it was going to cause me a probable regret for life. I might not be able to forgive myself. So what did I have to do? I had to put the problem in perspective. I asked myself, “How important is this course to me and my future plans?” It was very important. And it would have serious repercussions on my final year class.
You see, putting the problem in perspective helps you to see how it will affect you if you should give up on it. If it has no grave consequences on your long term dream and plans in life, then you can give up on it. But if it does, then you’ve got to rethink of a better strategy of doing it better.
4. Seek for help from the ‘experts’
Seeking for help is one of the cheapest and most expensive commodities on the market. That sounds ridiculous right? Let me explain. The reason it’s cheap is because it is given almost freely by everyone. But it’s also expensive in the sense that its impact on your output may be dangerous, especially if it was a bad one.
And do you know why I said seek help from the experts? It’s because not everyone is fit to give you advice. You should beware of the kind of people you seek advice from. You can’t seek medical advice from a mason, nor seek advice regarding the building of a house from a medical doctor. You seek advice from the right people; those who have experience in what you’re seeking to solve.
I sought advice from my colleagues who made good grades in the exam. I got to discover what techniques they adopted to achieve better results. And I got the answer.
5. Devise a better strategy
Failure is no indication that your dream is far from reach. No, not at all!! It only means the approach or strategy you devised was flawed. In that case, you have to think of a better strategy after seeking counsel from the experts. Put the pieces together to give you something more meaningful and promising.
Now, what I discovered from my colleagues was that they studied with past questions and in groups. I studied all alone in the first semester without any clue of past questions. As soon as I was told of this, I hurriedly got copies and had another friend with whom I formed a study group.
And guess what? The strategy worked. And what even amazed me the more was the fact that I had to work far less than I did in the first semester. We should be wary of not only working hard, but smart. There are many people who work so hard, but have nothing to show for their efforts and sweat. Working smart involves hard work and with a winning strategy.
So you may be asking, how is this supposed to you? Is this only an academic-related problem solver? No. These pointers can be used to turn every form of failure, no matter its nature, into success. Join me in the next and final episode of this 3-part article where we’ll see how we can be able to use these pointers in our relationships and businesses.
This article was written by;
Jonathan Adzokpe,
Host of Motivational Arena,
A weekend motivational radio talk show
On Nash Radio every Saturday from
10:00 to 11:00 GMT live at www.radionash.com
