We are raised in a world where winning is made out to be everything, with many of us given to harbouring unhealthy thoughts in terms of how we view success. In the comedy movie Talladega Nights, a young Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) who is aspiring to be a NASCAR driver just like his estranged daddy-O, is told in no uncertain terms that, ‘If you ain’t first, you’re last’.

These words, although harsh and untrue, provide the young man with all the motivation he needs to become the greatest NASCAR driver of all time – but the movie quickly shows how winning isn’t everything, especially when it’s the sole purpose and motivated by the wrong reasons. Ricky Bobby’s descent from triumph to being a total loser is terribly swift.

But why are you here on an Oxbridge Academy blog reading a rundown about a comedy movie, you may be asking yourself? Well, crucially, this film highlights the importance of knowing one so that you may understand the other. If you do not know failure, then you cannot know success and vice versa. Besides, how do you measure success vs. failure in any case?

The More You Fail, the More You Learn

Make a list of the top one hundred most successful people alive right now and guess what? One hundred of them will have failed more than you. This is because in our race to not make mistakes in pursuit of perfection, we forget that adversity is the biggest accelerator for success. Here are four ways to master failure and make it the basis for your prosperity:

  1. Accept Failure as a Necessary Step – as hard as it is to do, one should not be defeated and miserable because of a setback, but rather see it as a learning curb on the way to achieving the goal.
  2. Venting is Great – failure sucks, and no one is telling you to smile and wave your way through it; just don’t let it consume you. Allow yourself to feel your emotions after a setback, work through them, and then get back to the task!
  3. Tell Yourself the Truth – confronting yourself over mistakes made is pivotal to succeeding as this will help you alter the path you’re on and prevent you from making the same errors.
  4. Fail Only to Grow – failing in order to grow means taking any setbacks you encounter in stride and then making alterations so that you can achieve success.

Oxbridge Cares About Your Fears

At Oxbridge Academy, we are aware of and care about our students’ fears and successes – visit our dedicated Student Zone to see just how much support we offer you as you begin on your path to gaining new knowledge!