Why experiencing failure is important in life

A reminder that failures can be your biggest asset in life.

Mar 10, 2026

I love looking back in time. Transporting myself to memories where I felt happy, even the ones where I felt hopeless about the direction of my life. The latter is a challenging task, as it is often accompanied by negative emotions such as fear, guilt, and sadness. Even though human experiences are unique, we’re all a product of many hardships and comforts. We have all failed in our own ways. I believe it is an important experience to have in life, because it teaches you things you didn’t know you needed to be taught.

The first big failure I remember having in my life was scoring fewer marks in my final high school exams than I expected. The second one was failing an Actuarial Exam by a significant margin. The third one was realising that I fear the limelight enough to step back from potential opportunities if they bring attention to my skills and my life. The list goes on and on. But one common thing in all these experiences is gratitude. I am grateful for every single one of these experiences, and I’ll tell you why.

Failure highlights exactly those people in your life who truly hope and pray for your success. When you’re rising, everyone wants a little piece of your happiness because it is convenient and fun. But when you fall, only the ones who truly care will stay. I still go back to the day I failed my Actuarial exam, and I see my best friend at my doorstep with four different flavours of ice cream. We talked for hours and ate every single one of those cups. There was nothing she could gain from that gesture, except making sure that I was okay. So even though failing is hard, it reveals to you the relationships you need to cherish and show up for.

Failure teaches you to be patient and trust in the timing of your life. You can work hard and still not get the desired outcome, because it wasn’t the right time. Maybe you were not prepared enough to deal with what comes next. Maybe you needed more time to re-evaluate the direction of your life. Failure does open the door of self-doubt in your heart, but if you gave your all and still didn’t get what you desired, I hope you know that it wasn’t meant to be at that very moment. Doesn’t mean that it can’t be in the future, or in ways you didn’t know it could exist.

Failure teaches you that not having things go your way is not the end of the world. This one took me a long time to admit, because failure, no matter how big or small, always feels like the end of the world. I hope you know that it isn’t. I hope you know that even if you only have a single lifeline in this game of life, the universe doesn’t penalise you for getting back up when you fall. You can choose to fight your falls as many times as you want. At whatever age you want. The world doesn’t end when you’re back at square one. It ends for you the day you die.

Failure teaches you that showing up is all that matters. If you show up despite an undesired outcome, you’re the coolest in my eyes! It also means that you are already ahead of many others who vowed never to try again. Showing up means that you care enough to stay. It means that you will someday reach a place you had always desired to be at from afar, even if it looks different. I bet it’s still beautiful. Only because you decided to show up.

The people who experience failure aren’t exactly the ones who have failed in life. They are the ones who have grown and gained the strength to face the difficult things in life. You, who is reading this, are one of them. And I hope you are proud of that.

A question I’m leaving you with today: What has failure taught you in life? Comment below and let me know if you feel comfortable sharing. Let’s chat! :)

THIS WEEK’s RECOMMENDATIONS

I had a week full of emotional turmoil and chaos. This song helped me get through it. Do give it a listen in your free time (especially when you feel overwhelmed :)
AI was supposed to free us. Instead, it's making work harder. by Hanna Horvath. I have slowly developed a habit of reading Hanna’s work whenever she posts. I actually look forward to her letters, and this one did not disappoint.
On Babies, Ambition, And The Inconvenience Of Wanting Both by Imogen Hall. This post touches upon a dilemma every woman goes through in her life. And it speaks to you in your own ways, regardless of whatever stage you are in life.
I got rejected from grad school by Scott Symz. Scott’s post came in at such a perfect time - right before I was about to review the final draft of my post. I had to share it because it aligns so much with today’s theme.

If you enjoy reading Unwind, I would love it if you consider recommending the publication to your readers. Simply go to your Dashboard > Recommendations > Manage > Add recommendation > Unwind.

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