My Definition of Failure

580 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: defination essay on failure

The word “failure”, by definition, is the condition of not achieving the desired end or ends. However, this standard definition does not come close to summing up the countless other meanings of failure. Every person, regardless of status, color, or sex, has had to deal with this issue at least once in their lifetime. Even so, each person’s definition of it can vary depending on their personal experiences. The interpretations of failure may differ, but failure itself involves not putting forth effort, being a disappointment, or not succeeding in a task.
Entrepreneur and former professional basketball player Michael Jordan says this about not working for something: “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” This action of not doing something is dubbed as “failing” to do something. When a person does not put forth a good effort to fulfill a duty, they give off the sense of not caring about the outcome of anything in their life. Even if they are not successful in some of their endeavors, a person should still attempt to use a failure as a learnin...

Show More
Related

  • Quote Prompts, By John Lubbock

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone strives to be the greatest, especially teenagers in school, failing can be upsetting when it comes to failing a class or grade. Failure in school can have a huge impact on a student's future. When students aim for a goal it's either accurate or precise depending on their mindset.

    Read More

  • Human Lot To Try And Fail Analysis

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    David Mamet once stated, “..it is the human lot to try and fail..” This quotation implies that an individual will attempt to achieve success throughout their lifetime, but he/she will also have to face the failures as well. The quote relates to the philosophy that in order to achieve something, one will have to work for it. This quotation is correct and is further supported by two literary works. The two novels are Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Pearl, also by John Steinbeck. In these two novels, the protagonists know that their goals are very farfetched and out of the norm, yet they both try to achieve it and ultimately fail.

    Read More

  • William Zinsser The Right To Failure Essay

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American dream is the ideal that every U.S. citizen should be able to achieve success and prosperity through equal opportunities such as hard work, patience, determination, initiative. In William Zinsser’s essay “The Right to Fail,” the readers are presented with the idea that failure is a part of the pathway to life to be able to achieve the American dream. Like most people, this complicates what we see as the American dream. Do we all face failure at some point in life? Will we be able to pick ourselves back up after this point? Is there any way to avoid failure? What does failure even consist of? Zinsser provides his readers with the truths about this derogatory word known as failure.

    Read More

  • Essay On Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most people throughout the world strive for success in each task they take on, and along with this, many reasons contribute to why they succeed or not. If a person does not succeed, they may automatically blame themselves because of their level of strength. Others may blame themselves for not having enough knowledge about what they are trying to succeed at. The real reason that people may not succeed, however, is their lack of determination and happiness throughout his/her journey that is demonstrated in the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.

    Read More

  • My Driver's Test

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I speak of failure, I speak of putting one’s entire being into attempting a specific task and still not being capable of accomplishing it. Before I took my driver’s test, I practiced driving to and from school almost every day with my mom. When I actually took the test, however, I hit a cone trying to parallel park. A feeling of absolute devastation washed over me, as it began to dawn on me that I would not be showing off my new license to my friends the next day. Upon further introspection, however, I came to the conclusion that there was no one to blame other than myself; and that I may have not prepared for the test as much as I should have.

    Read More

  • A Nation Of Wimps Summary

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    Failure and learning have a complicated, yet important relationship with each other. In ‘A Nation of Wimps’, Hara Marano writes about through trial and error humans can become successful. An article by Robert I. Sutton of the Harvard Business Review, talks about a method of learning from failures. Dr. Everett Piper describes in the article ‘This is Not a Day Care. It’s a University!’ that students who do not repent their sins can not learn from them. In the speech ‘This is Water’, by David Wallace he explains how learning to think is in a way knowing what to think about. An article by Bob Lenz titled ‘Failure Is Essential to Learning’ addresses the notion that failure is a key importance in the process of learning. Failure is an essential and important step in the difficult process of learning.

    Read More

  • William Zinsser The Right To Fail Summary

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Zinsser’s article “The Right to Fail” discusses the unrealistic vision of success and failure that society has placed on itself. “The Right to Fail” is an excerpt from Zinsser’s book The Lunacy Boom which was published in 1970; this excerpt brings an awareness to the expectations that America places on young people and those who fail. Zinsser is speaking to a general audience of young and older people in America. The goal of this article is to change the way that society views achievements and failures. Rather than a setback, Zinsser sees failure as a way to learn and grown from the past; failure is meant to be used as tool to push society forward and improve things.

    Read More

  • Desire For Success In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    As children, we are naturally, curious, eager and willing to try new things. When they don’t work out we are quick to move on and try something else. We don’t waste time or start worrying about what didn’t work, we simply move on to trying something else. As we grow older we learn that failure is unacceptable and we always need to be on our feet and improving ourselves all the time so we can decrease the chances of failure. I believe that in this world everyone is hungry for success and no one wants to fail in something they would love to accomplish one day. Desire for success is like a “drug” in this generation, without success people look down upon you and will believe that you’re not worth their time without giving you a chance. The phrase

    Read More

  • Nathan Wallace Failure

    221 Words  | 1 Pages

    After reading Failure is Not an Option by Nathan Wallace, we ponder whether failure is beneficial or not. However, after reading the passage, we stumble upon a quote where Wallace says “Failure is always an option. Failure can lead to great learning and progress when a specific failure is analyzed through the lens of a growth mindset.”

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Success In The Dominican Republic

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Failure is described as "lack of success". Success is defined as "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose". If failure is lack of success and success is to accomplish an aim or purpose, then I have failed a lot of times in my life. I was well-raised in a little island called Dominican Republic. I am proud to be Dominican.

    Read More

  • Learning From Mistakes: The Pact and The Gridiron Gang

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    Estrem, Pauline. "Why Failure Is Good for Success." Thesis. N.d. (n.d.): n. pag. SUCCESS. Success Magazine, 2013. Web. 02 Jan. 2014

    Read More

  • Themes of Hope and Failure in The Awakening and The Outcasts of Poker Flat

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    What exactly is failure? It is, according to the dictionary, “Lack of success.” Many people say that “failure isn’t the falling down, but the staying down.” But who are we to say? Lack of hope, the thought that death and failure are one and the same, and a pessimistic outlook on life can cause someone to fail, but thankfully not everyone falls victim to these. Failure is always controversial, because people view things and events differently. As Elaine Maxewell once said, “My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.”

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless Success Vs Failure

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    Success and failure seem to be pretty distinct opposites, but many times the differences between success and failure aren’t as obvious as we may think them to be. Sometimes a failure can be turned into a success if you are willing to look back at them, and are open to learning from them. Many times, one’s attitude toward a failure can determine whether or not anything is learned from it. Those who remain upbeat and positive after a failure may be able to get something out of it, but those who just don’t think about it and ignore it won’t get anything from it.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Greatest Failure

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Failure isn’t always something you have control of or have the ability to predict. Failure seems to happen at the worst of times; however we need to accept it, because you cannot always win. My greatest failure would be tearing my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), my junior year in a lacrosse game, through no fault of my own in which my body physically failed me, but it truly changed my aspect of life in multiple ways.

    Read More

  • Should Libby's Dad Do Her Project Summary

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    Failure is a big part of life. Everyone fails to improve. Even famous people had failed, and look where it got them now. In the Scope magazine article “Should Libby’s Dad Do her project?,” Libby thinks her dad should do her school project for her so she can get a good grade. Her father believes it would better for Libby if she does it on her own. Libby needs to do her school project herself so she can learn more, Libby needs to know that she can recover from failure, some famous people also recovered from their failure and she needs to know that failure is apart of life.

    Read More

More about My Definition of Failure

Open Document