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Growing up, I thought that life was like a staircase. Each step I took, each goal I achieved, would bring me closer to the top, where everything would be perfect. But I didn’t realize that sometimes, life isn’t about climbing steadily upward. Sometimes, it’s about tumbling down those steps, landing flat on your face, and learning to stand up again.
I didn’t know it then, but my biggest growth moments weren’t going to come from my achievements; they were going to come from my failures. And not the “small misstep” type of failures, but the full-on, gut-wrenching, leave-you-sleepless kind that make you question everything about yourself.
The First Fall: Career Disappointment
My first major failure came in the early stages of my career. Fresh out of school, I had high hopes and a burning desire to make a mark. I had the qualifications, the energy, and what I thought was a clear path ahead. I had set my eyes on a dream job, poured every ounce of effort into the application, even lost sleep crafting the perfect responses to interview questions. And then… I didn’t get it.
It was more than a simple rejection. It was a harsh jolt, one that left me feeling lost and inadequate. I had wrapped my self-worth around the idea of landing that job, and…
