Failure is heavy. It clings like wet clothes in the rain, making every step feel slower, heavier. Each mistake, each miscalculation, each risk that led to nothing. It all builds up, whispering that maybe I should stop trying.
And the worst part? When the people who once believed in you start doubting. When their eyes, once filled with encouragement, now hold quiet disappointment. When even your parents, the ones who raised you, begin to think you might not make it. That kind of doubt cuts deeper than any failure ever could.
But I’ve learned something in the midst of it all. People see results, not the process. They see success and call it talent, but they don’t see the nights spent planning, failing, and trying again. They see confidence and call it luck, but they don’t hear the battles fought in silence.
And failure? It does more than hurt, it teaches. It gives a kind of experience even the most knowledgeable person can’t gain from books. Because knowledge tells you what to do, but failure teaches you how to survive when nothing goes as planned.
So, I decided something. If the world wants to see me as a fool, let them. Let them laugh while I work. Let them doubt while I learn. Let them ignore me, until they can’t anymore.
Because failure isn’t the end. It’s the weight that makes me stronger. It’s the lesson hidden in pain, even money can't buy. And if I fail a hundred more times, I will get up a hundred and one. Not because it’s easy. Not because I enjoy the struggle.
But because I refuse to gave up the journey to success.
Words by Matheesha Prathapa
("Don’t be afraid to fail a hundred times to succeed once.")