Constructing A Toolbox Out Of Your Failures

Tools are pieces of equipment that you use to accomplish specific tasks. From your screwdriver to your sophisticated lathe machines in the factory, tools are not an end in themselves but a means to an end.

Tools are not an end in themselves but a means to an end.

Recently I was sitting in church and as my pastor shared the Word I began to realise that, as opposed to a lot of you out there, my greatest successes are built on how I have managed to use the catalogue of my personal failure as tools to achieve better results.

I could start by telling you that I was never exceptionally good in my high school career. In fact, my first high school certificate was so bad that I only managed to get a place for Advanced Level Studies because of family connections and there was no excitement at all in the family about my going for A Levels. I embarked on my studies with a determination that far exceeded the culture in the school and at the end of two years of study I was one of the four out of sixty plus students who gained straight access to a university from the school.
My two years as a Advanced Level student were fruitful because I used my previous failures as a starting point and tool to achieve better results. A change of habits from a confrontational and indifferent attitude towards my teachers to one of respect and cooperation saw me receiving a lot of help from my teachers which in turn translated into better performance. From previous failure I realised I could not drink from the very well that I was poisoning.

As an O Level student the only relationships that I had were for purposes of one form of mischief or another but never for purposes of study. As an A Level student I had a lot fun with friends but I also had strategic relationships for purposes of study. I had links with students from a neighbouring girls high school and I benefited from the culture of their school which was more academic in orientation.

In my previous school I had by and large managed to get by with very little in terms of lesson notes. My notebooks for the different areas of study had a lot of yawning gaps which made it impossible for me to prepare adequately for exams. In my new school I corrected that and even went a step further by keeping a back up set of notes.

As an O Level student my study habits were haphazard if not non-existent. As an A Level student I had a well structured timetable of study which I followed religiously. I also learnt the value of putting in extra hours/time for study purposes.

During the first term holiday in my final year I joined the Speciss College holiday revision programme specifically to sharpen my essay writing skills. During the two week long programme we were expected to turn in 8 essays but instead I submitted 16. This was not an issue because a lot of my classmates in that programme were not submitting their essays so my additional submissions were not a burden to the teacher. When I went I went back to school I studied the comments on each and every one of the essay and tried the best I could to correct myself.

I didn't become an A class student because of all the changes that I implemented based on previous mistakes but I sure qualified for university from where I launched my teaching career.

I once heard someone say, "success is failure turned inside out " or something to that effect. I believe you can also turn your failures around if you own up to your part in them which is usually 100%. If it's spiritual growth you are after move away from neglecting the study of scriptures and prayer and you will see the results you desire. If it's your business or career that you want to grow move acknowledge those practices in your repertoire of activities which have been pulling you back and turn them inside out. It could be your marriage or other relationships it's time to acknowledge what you (not the other person) has been doing wrong and correct it. Harness your shortcomings as tools for better results.

I know you thinking it's not easy. You are right it's not easy I requires discipline and commitment. But I am sure you are more focused than the seventeen year old boy whose story you have been reading.

Written By Tendayi I Mawango For Arthur Mutambara

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