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Guest Post: Kimberly

This was kind of an unintended guest post, written by my lovely cousin Kimberly as an opinion essay. I hope you enjoy it! Comment below to show her the love. ;)

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Although this seems counter­intuitive, further analysis shows this is a true statement and a recipe for living a full and happy life. 

In life, a person's attitude is what makes or breaks him or her. Everything ends at some point – snow, summer vacations, parties with friends, a car running properly, even life itself. What can help a person succeed in life is having an attitude of embracing each season as it happens, and the endings that lead to new beginnings. After the passing of a loved one, the one of the only things keeping grieving relatives going is the hope that the future can be bright, even in the face of their loss. When a businessman looses his business, having an attitude of hope brings him through the experience and allows him to learn from past mistakes and do better in the future. Attitude is what brings success [from] failure.

Another way to interpret this saying is that success comes at the end of many failures. Every new invention begins with an initial model, but never is that original the finished product. Rather, it takes hundreds of adjustments before the creation is complete. Thomas Edison did not invent the lightbulb in one day, neither did the Wright brothers with their flying machine. In both cases, there were many failed attempts, but they did not give up and kept their enthusiasm for their work. Success only comes at the end of what seem at the time to be failures.

When someone can live life happily no matter what happens, they have truly succeeded. He or she experiences true happiness, and is able to do things others are unable to do. When the business that individual has built fails or he or she looses their job, he or she looks at the situation in a positive way. In this new place they can learn new things and meet new people, and have experiences they would not have otherwise. Someone once said, “Life is not waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.” This attitude makes individuals resilient and able to cope with changes more effectively than those who fear the future because of those changes.

In conclusion, when a person is able to cultivate an attitude of embracing change, persistence, and happiness, they are able to be truly successful in their endeavors. Truly, the ability to go “from one failure to another....with enthusiasm” is what can bring a man or woman out on top throughout the roller coasters of life.

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