If we learned not to fear failures but rather see them as learning opportunities, I’m pretty sure that we would be accomplishing much more in life. One of the biggest failures and comebacks from my own life is also one of my most memorable.
In 1990, I was certified as a Level 1 ski instructor by the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance, the governing body for professional ski instructors here in Canada. I always wanted to become a Level 2 instructor. So after a few years of teaching skiing as a Level 1, I decided to sign up for the Level 2 certification course.
Most Grueling Challenge Resulted In Failure…
The Level 2 ski instructor course turned out to be the most grueling challenge I’ve ever encountered in the form of a course. It was an intensive five-day program with both on snow and indoor sessions. We were constantly being evaluated by the course conductors, all Level 4 instructors, i.e., the Ski Gods of Canada.
On the slopes, I quickly found that my ski technique on the “black diamond” slopes, which are the steep ones, was not quite up to Level 2 standards. My short radius quick turns were also not up to the course conductors liking. As a result of these weaknesses, I ended up failing the course.
Using Failure As A Teacher…
Of course I was upset for failing but the experience also taught me what I needed to work on. It clearly told me that if I ever wanted to become a Level 2 ski instructor, I would have to improve on my weaknesses.
So for the next entire ski season, I made it a main objective to specifically train intensively on my weaknesses, which were skiing on the black diamond slopes and doing short radius turns. In fact, I forced myself to work on just these two techniques during my 3 to 4 ski days each week all winter long. By the following winter, I was ready to retake the Level 2 course.
Facing Further Challenges…
The retest was at a bigger ski resort than the one I was at for my first course and this resulted in further challenges. This bigger resort not only has black diamond slopes but also has “double black diamonds”. These particular slopes are even steeper than the single black diamonds.
There is this one double black diamond slope called “Elevator Shaft”, which is the steepest one at the resort. Judging from the name of the slope, you can just imagine how steep it is. None of the candidates thought that the course conductors were actually going to make us go on “Elevator Shaft”. But guess what happened?
Sure enough, those buggers made us ski down “Elevator Shaft”, as part of our test not just once, but three times! This was probably one of the most nerve-racking experiences I have ever gone through. It’s one thing to ski down the steepest double black diamond there but to be actually tested on it — you can imagine the intense anxiety we all felt.
Finally Success Comes…
At the end of my retest, I was told that I actually skied well enough to finally pass the Level 2 program. The specific training that I took for the entire last season paid off and I wouldn’t have gone through that type of training if I hadn’t failed the Level 2 course the first time around. After eight years since becoming a Level 1 instructor, I was finally skiing at the Level 2 standard, which is considered a very respectable ski level.
So in my case, the failure during the first time taught me where my weaknesses were as well as how to train to overcome them. This process of course can be applied to pretty well anything else in life. If you want to achieve a higher level in anything, be prepared to accept failures. As long as you use such failures to learn from them and apply what you’ve learned, success will eventually come.
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Clint Cora is a Canadian motivational speaker, author and Karate World Champion. He offers a free 3-part Personal Development Video Series on his website at www.clintcora.com
-What do you think of the ideas above? Do you have any experiences you’d like to share where a past shortcoming or failure ended up preparing you for a later success in your life? Use the comments area below to share your thoughts.
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