Don’t hold that glass for too long… by Namosha

Don’t hold that glass for too long… by Namosha - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

My chemistry teacher always said, “Even the most successful person on the earth is not immune to failures, so know how to deal with them.” My teachers have played a crucial role in molding me into the person I am today. Amongst the many lessons I have learned from my teachers, the most significant one was about dealing with failures.

On the last day of my high school, my teacher conducted a simple experiment that transformed the way I dealt with failures and regrets. Initially, it seemed to be an ordinary experiment, but at its termination, it turned into a lesson that I would retain for the rest of my life.

As my classmates and I were conversing about our graduation, our chemistry teacher instructed us to grab a handful of pebbles and a glass from the material station. Weakened due to senioritis, we invested all our energy to stand up and follow her instructions. The experiment was conducted as she read out the procedure:
“Step one: pick up the glass and hold it in your hand. Then take a pebble and put it in the glass.
Step two: Record the amount of time you can hold the glass.
Step three: Keep adding pebbles to the glass and hold it as long as you can.”

I held the glass in my hands and kept adding pebbles until it became heavy. After a few minutes, my hands started to hurt. One of my classmates dropped the glass because he could not bear the pain. Thus, she instructed us all to place the glasses on our tables.

Later, she elucidated the purpose of the experiment. She said, “the glass with a pebble initially seems weightless, but holding the glass for a long time becomes an arduous task. Moreover, the pain is intensified as more pebbles are added before removing the former ones. Students, after a few days you will graduate from the high school and begin a novel chapter in your life. Every new chapter is accompanied by tests, and chances are, you might fail some of them and then regret it. However, don’t let the failures and regrets occupy your mind for a long time. Failures and regrets are like the glass full of pebbles. Initially, when you hold on to the failure and regret for a shorter period of time, they seem light and manageable. But just like your hands began to hurt when you held the glass for a long time, you will become more depressed when you hold the failure and regret for a long time. Furthermore, when you accrue additional failures and regrets before relinquishing the previous ones, the distress will amplify. So, it is essential for you to empty the glass and place it down.”

“Don’t hold that glass for too long.”

That day changed the way I tackled failures and regrets. Her lesson has taught me that we all fail, but the most important part is to analyze the mistake and move on. Most of us lack the ability to forgive ourselves. We think that the longer we ruminate on the failures and regrets, the easier it is to deal with them. However, we fail to understand that the failures and regrets make us feel like we are inefficient and weak. We lose our confidence and the ability to be a confident decision maker. Although failure is a step towards the success, keeping the failures and regrets in our minds for a long time turns them into obstacles on the path to success. Since they are part and parcel of our lives, we cannot avoid them. Thus, it is necessary to tackle them. As there will be countless failures and regrets, accumulating them does nothing but give rise to negative thoughts. Our heads start to hurt and some people, like my friend who dropped the glass, just decide to give up. Hence, it is imperative to depart from the failures to prevent emotional outbursts and prevent the negativity from creeping in.

I am a sportsperson and in sports, one can either win or lose. In such a case, it is imperative for me to deal with my failures effectively so that the previous failures do not affect my next game. Thus, the aforementioned lesson is the most important lesson I have learned from a teacher. Now, every time any failure or regret depresses me, I empty that glass and place it down.