Is failure really the stepping stone to success?

Success and failure are two sides of the same coin. But how many are really lucky to get the taste of success after experiencing failure? We think of people who have achieved great heights after experiencing difficulties and failures in the initial stage of their life. But what about those who have reached the peak of their success, had everything within their reach and then again had experienced the ravages of fate and had gone down like the setting sun? A very good example of such a person from the history itself can be Napoleon Bonaparte. He fought his way through to the top of the political order in France and then again, due to his extreme ambition, saw his own downfall. Same goes with the German (Nazi) leader Adolf Hitler. But in the latter’s case, history says that he committed suicide.

As we say ‘every aspect of history repeats itself’, committing suicide in the face of extreme tension and final failure has been increasingly occurring in today’s competitive world. When we talk about people experiencing success after failures, we realise that we are looking only at those who have the capacity to fight all odds and come back strong. However, there are also people for whom failure is always not the stepping stone to success. They tend to fade into oblivion.

The reality of life is very hard and it is definitely not a bed of roses. Competition has been reaching its peak in every section and the battle for a smooth, secured life with an excellent job is becoming tough. Some succeed in their mission of life and come out with flying colours, but there are some whose existence in the professional sphere is wobbly and doubtful. Many come back with a bang from hopeless situations but many succumb to depression, drinking and doping. The ultimate outcome of slot maschinen which is either they end up in front of a psychiatrist’s office, in a rehab or simply commit suicide and get an easy way out of all earthly worries and tensions. It has now become regular news in almost every mainline English and vernacular newspaper how someone or the other has committed suicide due to some kind of failure in academic, professional or personal life. What does it reflect about the societal situation of the country currently? Where are we heading for? Is there even a remedy to this problem that is acting as pandemic in the society?

However, the best example and answer to all these doubts and questions is the 77 year old man, Anna Hazare, who is fighting against the government to see a corruption free country. We all know that even after repeated failures to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed in the Parliament he is still doing everything within his power to see the bill through. This man has become an inspiration for the country. He has proved that if you want something to materialise, then put up your best foot forward, make all the necessary moves and keep on pursuing the subject until and unless you achieved it.

Life is hard and many a times unfair, but still you have to hold on to hope and have faith in yourself. It varies from individual to individual as to whether “Failure is a stepping stone to success or not” but life will become less complicated if we at least just follow what Swami Vivekananda had said years ago “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is achieved”.