Failures

It has been said—'Failures are the stepping stones to success'. A lot of people read it, some remember it, a few ponder over it, and a select few assimilate it and set such an example in front of others as to make their life worthy of being lauded and exemplified by the spectators.

I recently had the golden opportunity to witness a failure, and this gave me the courage to pen down my thoughts over this topic. Over the past couple of years, I've got so much used to seeing failures that I, instead of getting morose, have started befriending them. I shall now try to illustrate by a few (out of the many that I have hitherto known) examples how men (or even countries) become great by taking failures in their stride.

I remember that I had seen an interview of the Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on a television channel. He narrated about an instance of his life when he had failed in a school examination. He was expecting a good round of thrashing from his father when the news would be conveyed to him. When the father came to know about it, young Kher was taken to a nice restaurant and a luncheon was hosted for him. At the end of the meal, he was asked what, according to him, could be the reason this royal treatment was meted out to him. An appalled Anupam, who had otherwise expected an altogether different outcome, couldn't answer. It was then that his father told him that it was a lesson for him, to remember for life, that one should not feel dejected and crestfallen on encountering a failure. Rather, a failure should be taken as an event to make oneself understand one's weaknesses and work upon them. This left an indelible impression on the mind of young Kher. The example is an apt demonstration on being optimistic in life—always getting the best out of the seemingly worst events. An event that prima facie may seem like an occasion for despair may well be a turning point in one's life. At this juncture, Anupam Kher is counted among the few critically acclaimed actors that Bollywood has to offer.

The reneging of Russia on the contract to supply India with cryogenic engines and the cryogenic technology did not give Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) a reason to crib and cry over a broken commitment. India successfully launched the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) using indigenous cryogenic technology.

This makes me remember a few lines from the Hollywood movie A Good Year:

• "A man should acknowledge his losses just as gracefully as his victories."
• "You'll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing, however, can elicit great wisdom—not least of which is, how much more enjoyable it is to win. It is inevitable to lose now and again; the trick is not to make a habit of it."

To the naysayers, the above view seems to be quite an idealistic point of view. However, I'll hereby try to explain the pragmatic part of this view. Can there be anything substantial that a man may achieve by cribbing over what has not happened? Is it fair to justify the blame of one's not succeeding on the circumstances? Certainly, such an act cannot change the course of history. One cannot go back in time—at least as of now, science has not given us such a device to do that. Therefore, it's better to look for what one can change within oneself than to try to change the circumstances. And if ushering that change in oneself brings a change in the future circumstances, then it seems to be a far easier, better and thus, practical proposition. And thus, the words "Nar ho na niraash karo man ko", i.e., being a human, don't let yourself lose hope (courtesy Maithilisharan Gupt) and "Jo beet gayi so baat gayi", i.e., let bygones be bygones (courtesy Harivansh Rai 'Bachchan') seem to have strong strands of pragmatism.

Now, it seems apt to add a few details to motivate those who wish to attain their goals, for human beings do require periodic performance boosters even to maintain a steady pace in their efforts. It is worthwhile to note that motivation can be found from very common occurrences in life which, nevertheless, requires a keen observation and an ability to deliberate on seemingly trivial matters. I recall a few lines of a television commercial of the Government of India which although was aired in some other context, yet appears to be apt to underline the efforts required to succeed:

"Kehna bada aasaan hai ke sirf mehnat se banta hai naam, par sach ye hai ke hadh kar guzar jaane se banta hai ye naam." This can be loosely translated to: It is very easy to say that hard work is necessary to make a mark in life, but the truth is that to make a mark requires one to scale all the traditionally considered peaks and limits. So, does it mean that the barriers should stop one in one's efforts? Well, the answer can be found in the lyrics of a song Naav from the Bollywood movie Udaan—"Bhanwar se dar jo haar maan le, kaahe ka fir zor hai tera, zor hai tera...", i.e., if whirlpools (interpret as difficulties) compel you to acknowledge a defeat, what is the strength in your efforts? It needs to be remembered—the fact that the result is not entirely in the doer's hands, should not deter the doer from action.

Another thing to remember is that though one might feel oneself to be in the direst of all the straits, there will always be someone who is more wretched in his/her circumstances, and yet is optimistic about it—for what is wretchedness but a state of mind, and the one who conquers one's mind can find out a way to surmount the seemingly unsurmountable barriers.

All in all, Swami Vivekananda's maxim "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached" can be taken as one of the best statements to motivate oneself, so that travelling the 'miles to go before one sleeps' becomes an easier task.