Failing A Subject

Student Wellbeing
Student Wellbeing • 15 December 2020

Failing A Subject

The take-home point is: failing doesn’t make you a failure. The experience however, can be an emotional rollercoaster and can result in doubts in self-confidence and abilities. If we never failed, we would never learn from our processes. A key example is Michael Jordan, basketball legend. Back in high school, he was cut from his team because he wasn’t “good enough”. He bounced (pun intended) back stronger than ever and kept working at his skills. Today, he is one of the most celebrated and talented basketballers in the league today.

How do I cope with failing?

Remember, that this failure whether it be an assessment task, exam, unit or course; does not define who you are as a person! Failure can be a good tool of recognising what things didn’t work for you, so you don’t repeat them. The following are a few ways to challenge your perspective:

  • Celebrating that you worked out how to not do something
  • Thinking about how you can turn this into a lesson that you can apply to other parts of your life outside of study. For example, if you recognised that time management was an issue with your studies, you may be able to improve this elsewhere too such as at your workplace.
  • Appreciate your own effort: Failure is a sign that you’re challenging yourself to do something difficult. If studying was easy, everyone would be doing it. Remember, not everyone is capable of that.
  • Turn fear of failure into resilience: once you’ve failed and come through to the other side, you’ll always know that failing is never as scary as it once seemed.
  • Don’t forget: everyone fails. Even super successful amazing people. Remind yourself that this failure is just one moment in your life.

For more information, see https://au.reachout.com/articles/failing-a-course-or-subject

As an enrolled student, you can speak to our Counsellors for free and confidential support. Call 9564 1649 or email studentwellbeing@holmesglen.edu.au for an appointment.