Celebrating Failure

Past failure...

A few weeks ago my scooter wouldn't start. I've had it for 3 years and have never had a problem with it, until now. Instead of bringing it to a mechanic right away, I decided to try and fix it myself. I got out some tools I had laying around the house and got to work, starting by removing the top of the scooter to have more access to the engine and battery. 

After a few turns and quick battery charge I was able to eventually get the engine running. It drove well until I stopped it again, and it wouldn't start. I decided to do the same process as before, but something went wrong. My scooter was only going 10mph and accelerating when I would turn my blinker on. Needless to say I had a much bigger problem than I had previously thought. 

What I learned...

I learned my way around a scooter engine/battery and how the connections vary from the engines I'm used to. I also learned that I'm not as good of a mechanic as I may have thought as soon as I got it working the first time. 

Once I was told what the real problem was (after a trip to the mechanic) there was no way I could've solved it with my own resources. 

Reflect..

I think failure is crucial when going through life. If we never fail we will never know how to overcome adversity or problem solve. At the end of the day failing is learning. 

When faced with failure, I get very critical of myself. It also makes me more driven to accomplish what I haven't accomplished. This class has helped in not feeling as embarrassed to put yourself out there. When I'm faced with a challenge in a comfortable environment, it's much easier to overcome compared to the environment that this class has put me in. I'm definitely more likely to take a risk now than I was at the beginning of the semester.