Failure In Everyone Can Write, By Peter Elbow

Why is it that the people who care the most about you hate to see you fail? Do they feel your pain? Even though they may not physically feel what you are going through they do understand that failure is rough. They know how much it hurts to accept a loss and they understand just how bad it aches because everyone feels the all too real sting of failure. Although the actuality of failure is so terrifying, many good features result from it. Failure is an obstacle in life that builds character, motivates people, and distinguishes great individuals from everyone else.

The character that comes out of failure is an important aspect of what it means to fail. When people fail it causes them to see the world for what it really is and where they stand. This is an event that all people will run into at some point or another. For me, my most defining failures would be in my early childhood. I was never good at sports, but

In Everyone Can Write, Peter Elbow explains how “to fail or be kicked out is unthinkable.” (7) This idea is solidified in the core of every person. Nobody desires failure and it is one of man’s greatest fears. From this fear comes a drive that compels people to put in the work and effort so that they will never have to experience the terrible feelings that accompany it. Furthermore, one excellent example of how defeat can push someone into greatness lies in the history of the world’s greatest basketball all-star, Michael Jordan. During Jordan’s early high school years, he was cut from his school’s basketball team. The devastation that the G.O.A.T. felt at this time could have been detrimental to his career, but after his initial disappointment, he realized that this event was just a hurdle in his career that could be overcome with diligence. Anytime Jordan felt like giving up, he would just imagine the team’s roster without his name on it to get him fired up