Are you prepared for failure

I write with courage borrowed from a strangers quill,
i write with ink thats of a colour alien to me
I raise a question which i might not be prepared to answer myself
Not for it being an unknown entity but rather because its something iv known to well.

Are you prepared for failure, is failure truly a stepping stone to success, or is this a prayer for the meek that every second hander kneels to or says his internal amen to. Well it is an interesting question and evidence shows that success, real success in terms of greatness has come to those that have failed at some point in time, be it Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison or Albert Einstein. But does failure have to be a part of ones legacy, a predisposing component of a successful gene. The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, well maybe its not.

Heres my opinion if it be of any value, i do not believe that failure is the key to success, nor is it preparedness for failure but rather it is the ability to accept failure, to learn its lesson and to move on. I cant really say , what make you accept failure, i cant even say say what prevents you from using the very statement as a shield against the world, or more importantly as a shield against your own consciousness. All i can say is that iv seen it done , if heard it preached though in texts from an age gone by

I don't mean that you sabotage your own plans to create failure just to prove that you are not afraid of failing, but i also say don't hide behind this bravado your half hearted attempts at success and mediocre aspirations. Be honest in your attempt and be true to your cause, but don't let failure be the last point of your journey. Dont let failure take control of your very actions, don't let fear of failure paralyse you into inactivity, aspirations get trimmed at the edges to fit within the box of your fears, let go of the fears and let the aspirations fly.

But this is all quite easily said but so difficult to follow, i know for i live in a world where failure is death. Its a war the heart against the mind, or maybe just the mind against the mind, rationality agains embedded value systems. Being an indian from a simple middle class family iv always lived in the belief of performance as being the ultimate goal. Competition , aspirations , achievement, seem to have been repeated so many times that they form a natural environment to be in. Its fairly easy for me to say that i am enlightened and that i move above it , but honestly every time i have claimed that i wasn't competing wasn't because i wasn't but rather because i wanted to lay the ground for failure. Iv never really had the courage to accept that .


So in conclusion I dont know how to be less afraid of failure , i know that there is a thin line between being able to accept failure and preparing for failure , and the latter is a sure shot trap for the self. But atleast im happy that i know where i stand , atleast im happy that i have accepted what i have and that i can see what i aspire to achieve from this someday. Till then let it be baby steps , let the risks be small till im prepared not for failure but rather for success.