Success and Failure? Failure Teaches You Most Important Lessons

If you have to choose between success and failure? Where do you think you could learn more valuable lessons?

Here’s what…

Success doesn’t teach you much, but failure teaches you the most important lessons.

Allow me to share with you why.

This is my picture when I finished my first ever Ironman.

That was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced my whole life. Being able to make it to the finish line!

I remember after posting this picture on social media, I received messages from my friends.

“So March, how did you do it? I didn’t know you were sporty. Since when did you become sporty??”

I wish I could tell them how my love in sport started. I wish I could tell them about this very important lesson I learned…

Now here’s what they didn’t know…

My training started 5 years ago!

This is where it all started…

It was that one fateful night. I was enjoying one of my days off after a tiring day at work.

Then suddenly, I felt something uncharacteristic. I felt like my world is going around..literally! I felt dizzy.

Thinking that it was just one of those days I missed eating so I didn’t really mind.

But things got a little out of hand!

I felt uncomfortable. That was when I started to get a little paranoid.

The first thing I saw then was my blood pressure apparatus. Though I’d take my blood pressure.

Boom! It was like a bomb when I got the result. 180/90!!

“Wait, what??” This is the usual blood pressure I would usually get whenever I take our patient’s blood pressure in ICU.

You don’t need to be a nurse to know that this call for immediate attention, right? Now, what made it even worse is the fact that as a nurse, it can lead to something really worse! (wait, did I say worse?? 😀 )

I was nervous!!

I asked my cousin to rush me to the nearest hospital. They took my blood pressure and they got the same reading. 180/90!!

It was then when things got really serious.

The following day, I sought the second opinion from a cardiologist. I got diagnosed to have a pre-hypertension.

Like, seriously??

I was 23 then. And at that early age, I was already taking maintenance medication for blood pressure.

I thought, smoking 2 packs per day took its toll on me. I knew it was gonna happen. Why didn’t I think about that?? Thoughts of worries began to fill my mind at that time.

Being exposed to comatose patients working in ICU, I got worried about my health..and my life!

That was one of my wake up calls in life.

I remember having to travel home during my day offs working in the hospital. The used to be a drinking session that I would look forward to, changed to running.

I would wake up at 4 am. I would start doing my early walk in the park. Most of the time I was alone.

But I had to do persevere!

At first, 3 minutes was like an eternity for me. But my why was bigger.

3 minutes turned into 5 minutes. Until it progressed to 30 until I made it to 1 hour. Week in and week out. I would do the same routine.

The used to be 1 round became 10 rounds. It progressed to 15 then 20 to until 30 rounds.

Oh boy, nothing could stop me then.

When I went to Manila, I realized fun runs were all over the place. So I thought of joining one. Until I got hooked to it.

If your body is used to exercise, I know you would understand that you want to level up every time, right?

That’s what I did?

Until I met a friend. He invited me to join their triathlon club. Triathlon requires you to swim bike and run. But you know what the funny part was??

I didn’t know how to swim!

Oh well, there’s no harm in trying, I thought. I started from scratch.

Sure, I had this desire. But just like when I started running, I also had my shares of ups and downs. I would have success and failure.

And guess what, after months of trying, I finally made it. I made it to the Ironman finish line. I’m loving it.

Talk about success and failure.

Nothing beats having to go through failures and still would get a taste of success.

And you know how it all started, right?

From failure.

So if I have to choose between success and failure? Of course, I’d choose both!

But hey, while success feels good, sometimes you also need to embrace failure.

You know why?