How To Fail

How To Fail shows the surprising benefits of going through a difficult time through the experiences of the author, Elizabeth Day, including the failures in her life that she’s grateful for and how they’ve helped her grow, uncovering why we shouldn’t be so afraid of failure but instead embrace it.

Failing sucks, but it also teaches us important things, like what area we needed to study harder in.

When best-selling journalist and author Dolly Alderton was rejected by the college she wanted to attend, she was shocked. She had lived a pretty coddled life up until that point, and she wasn’t used to rejection. Now, she’s grateful for the wake-up call from her entitlement in her early twenties. It helped prepare her for the harsh realities of adult life.

In fact, your twenties are a great time to experience failure and learn from it. It’s a time to prepare for adult life and realize who you are and what you want to do with your life. How else are you going to learn without stumbling a few times first? Your twenties are the time to transition between adolescence and adulthood, and there is no rush.

Day often reflects on how she was so serious about starting her career and landing her husband right after college. She now realizes she didn’t need to be in such a rush. She should’ve spent more time finding out what she really wanted. So if you’re in your twenties and you feel like you’re failing, relax!

After a few long-term relationships in her twenties, Day settled down and got married. But, unfortunately, the relationships she had were pretty old-fashioned, and she was quickly the cook, cleaner, and shopper, all while holding a full-time job. She would tell herself that she was a strong woman for doing all of the chores, but she was actually putting the men in her life before her well-being. In short, she was failing in her relationships. With this came a drop in her self-worth and, eventually, a divorce. While anyone can tell you divorce is absolutely not something you want to endure, Day acknowledges how important this experience was for her. It not only helped her find her voice but also realize what she needed in life. After reflecting on her previous relationships, she realized she was stuck in a cycle of trying to complete herself with other people. Soon, she was actually able to have gratitude for each relationship and what it taught her. This helped her jump back into the dating pool and be prepared for a healthy relationship. While dating again, failed relationships and dates helped her see that she still needed to learn how to stop…