I remember saying this to someone one day and the person was very shocked but then when I explained myself she got my point and the expression left her face.

I am not saying that it is my habit to intentionally put in effort to fail neither am i saying that I don't put efforts in my endeavours so that I don't achieve success. As you read through this article, you'll understand the reason for the title of this article.

Growing up, I rarely failed, I didn't even have to put in too much effort to succeed in anything but a turning point in my life was the time that I wrote an external exam that I was super confident that I was going to ace and then I didn't make a paper. I remember crying but just for few hours because although I haven't really experienced that kind of thing, I am one to always think up a solution quickly, hence I registered for the exam the next day and started reading for it immediately.

This experience taught me some very important lessons

• Overconfidence is an hindrance to success

• Even when you fall, it's essential to pull yourself back up because you will eventually get back up and if you spend a lot of time moping around or you are waiting for someone to come and pull you up, although someone might show up, you might have just wasted a whole lot of productive time

While waiting for someone to come pull you up can be a waste of time, people are also a catalyst to attaining success.

Surround yourself with positive people

I was able to get the courage to register for the exam again because my entire family supported me. Therefore, it is essential to have people around that believe in you and constantly support you. Unfortunately, in some families, when an individual fails, their family members tend to discourage and compare them to other people and thus extinguish the last flicker of hope. If you are in such situation, surround yourself with friends that can help you, if your friends also condemn you, then you should know that you are in the wrong association and work towards making better friends. But before then, it's essential to take baby steps to rise because no man will effectively do for you what you can do for yourself.

Look up to God

Have you ever had people tell you "rise up", "get up", "pick yourself up", "you aren't the first" and so many of those comments and you just feel like no one understands you? The good news is that God understands you since He is your Creator and if you take everything to Him, He will definitely you the strength to rise up, exceed people's expectations and attain "good success"

Don't be afraid to fail

Few weeks ago, a tutorial center organized a test in preparation for the actual school test and some of my friends didn't write the test. When I asked them why, they said that they were unprepared. I could bet that I was more unprepared than they were, yet I took the test because I wasn't afraid to fail. My reasoning was that if I failed in the tutorial test, I was definitely certain that I was going to ace my school tests.

During the test, I was able to identify my challenges which included topics that I thought I understood, yet I couldn't solve the questions and I had to go back and study them thoroughly. I was also able to see that I had to work on my timing because although I knew the answers to some, I didn't have enough time.

Therefore do not be too afraid to take that step because taking that step is going to prepare you for something greater and greater tests that await you.

My definition of success

So many people have various definition of success and here is mine. Success is continuous progress and the ability to make something out of what is at your disposal.

Comparison is not allowed

I've heard many people say that oh! This man is very successful, I want to be like him. In as much as we should look up to people and learn from them, we should remember that they got to that stage by trying to become a better version of themselves using what they have. Therefore instead of saying I am more successful that Mr A, say I am more successful than who I was yesterday. Measuring this progress will help you steadily grow and before you know it, people will compare themselves to you but always remember to tell them that they are their own yardstick .

This is my submission for the writing prompt on Success by @JonicaBradley

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1. Join the Promptly Jonica community here

2. Write anything about success

3. Write 100% original content

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Thanks for reading!