If you fail, you can always learn from it. I failed one class (geometry) in high school and if you asked me, it wasn’t all my fault.
Situation: The instructor was a war Veteran with severe PTSD. He never answered a question from anyone in the class. His response was always the same, “It’s in the back of the book.” After wasting a large portion of my summer stuck in school, I completed the class. Summer school classes were 6 or 8 weeks and during the regular semesters for the same class was 12-16 weeks. When my report card finally came my dad asked me one question: “How is it possible that you made an A in half the time it took you to make an F?”
It was enough to force me to give some thought to the question. The answer forced me to assess the situation. I must admit that most of the credit for my successful completion of the course was because my teacher enjoyed his job. The other piece was my personal motivation to succeed was in overdrive. My elevated motivation combined with an instructor that loves what he did for a living was the winning combination.
My initial reflection of the failure revealed ways to learn from the experience:
1) If you must learn anything ensure the person teaching it loves what they do. Because, even if the task is difficult, they will care enough to ensure they answer your questions.
2) When you learn one lesson in life’s experience it is possible there are other lessons to be learned if you live long enough. The Veteran with PTSD was struggling to support himself… (it only took me 24 years of active-duty service…living in 7 different countries, 5 different states and 3 different war/conflict zones) to realize his situation.
3) Use caution when judging people because you don’t know what they have gone through.
Lesson learned: It does not matter how hard the class is, select the instructor wisely. Ask these two questions:
Does the person enjoy teaching the material?
How motivated is the student?
The lessons you learn about yourself allow you to truly grow as a human being. Remember to keep looking for all the learning that can be extracted from any lesson you learn. We all matter.
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Facts
16.1 Million Veterans (A military veteran is a person who has served or is serving in the armed forces of a country).
22 Veterans may die by suicide each day.
7k+ Veterans in Maui County
** The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3850, Kihei, Hawaii has Approximately 200 members. It is the only VFW post in the County of Maui. What makes the post so special? We make a valiant effort to provide a 21-gun salute for EVERY Veteran that is transferring to their final assignment on this planet. So, spread the word. If you are a Veteran, and willing to help, please contact your local VFW. We are always looking for
those that earned the right to join the VFW to help.
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