26A – Celebrating Failure
1) This semester I was interviewing for Gators of Tomorrow (G.O.T.), a leadership program for the top 25 Freshmen at UF, when I failed big time. I had made it to the last stage of interviews and with much preparation, I felt beyond ready. I had planned what I was going to say and which ideas I would propose when they asked what needed to change on campus. However, during the interview, the President of G.O.T. put a weird spin on the question; no worries, right? I changed my entire answer away from what I had planned to say and it was a flop. I ended up not being accepted into the program due to this on-the-spot failure to stick to my plan.
2) However, I took a very positive life-lesson away from this. Be prepared and then stick to your preparation no matter what comes your way. It is likely that things in life will turn out differently than you anticipated, however, don't walk away from your plan.
3) Failure is brutal; I find it so hard to wrap my mind about the positive benefits of it at the moment. As a high achiever, I am not used to failing much. For me, that makes it so much harder to cope with failure when I am not used to it. This is hard, however, I have had many opportunities to cope with it in my life. I find that I like to go do things I like to do as I soak in all that has happened. Through my experience with failures and the things I have learned in this class, I have come to see failure as the means of gaining important information that will help position you for success later in life. It helps you adapt to a better person. Because of this, I am now more willing to take risks and put myself in uncomfortable situations like never before.
2) However, I took a very positive life-lesson away from this. Be prepared and then stick to your preparation no matter what comes your way. It is likely that things in life will turn out differently than you anticipated, however, don't walk away from your plan.
3) Failure is brutal; I find it so hard to wrap my mind about the positive benefits of it at the moment. As a high achiever, I am not used to failing much. For me, that makes it so much harder to cope with failure when I am not used to it. This is hard, however, I have had many opportunities to cope with it in my life. I find that I like to go do things I like to do as I soak in all that has happened. Through my experience with failures and the things I have learned in this class, I have come to see failure as the means of gaining important information that will help position you for success later in life. It helps you adapt to a better person. Because of this, I am now more willing to take risks and put myself in uncomfortable situations like never before.
Hello Cason!
ReplyDeleteAs always, great job on this!
I believe many individuals can relate to your specific failure - it’s not easy getting denied from an organization or internship that you felt confident and passionate towards pursuing. However, I really enjoyed how you looked at it from a positive perspective and are embracing what you’ve learned from it.
Failure is brutal - but it makes your achievements even more rewarding. Continue to throw your name in those hats!
Thank you for sharing.
Caitlyn Torres
Hi Cason! Great post! I think sometimes, even though it hurts in the moment, failure can be a very positive thing. Maybe the reason this program didn’t accept you is because there is something way better and more fitting to you waiting for you. Also, maybe this is the type of interview practice that you need. Thanks for sharing. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteHi Cason! I think many of us at UF can relate to this feeling. We all typically had success in academics and extracurriculars throughout our life. That first big failure is hard to accept, but I think it challenges us by making us consider our flaws and that we can always be better. I also think it teaches us to cope is failure rather than refuse it. Thank you for sharing this experience with us!
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