"I'm so proud of you"

The power “I’m so proud of you” holds is astronomical. It could be said by a parent, a sibling, a friend, a teacher or even said to yourself. However, why does it hold so much power over us?

Making our parents proud often motivates people. Making your significant other proud can be a motivator too, as well as making your friends proud. Making someone proud can makes us feel successful. The phrase “I am so proud of you” creates a feeling of happiness and makes us think about how much we have achieved. However, that feeling of being proud about our achievement’s fades once we hit a setback or obstacle. That feeling of happiness is a mere memory. That brief and temporary moment of happiness holds so much power over us, that we feel ashamed of failing.

Failure is something everyone hides from, it makes us feel small and inferior. The feeling of failure is heart-breaking. Being compared to people can often lead us down a spiral of feeling worthless. Having a setback can make an individual rethink everything. By questioning themselves by saying “is it even worth it?”, “why do I even bother?”. In my understanding, when we fail, we beat ourselves up with these thoughts. Being afraid of failing leads us to being afraid of trying.

Failing is essential. As hard as it may be, without failure there would be no change. Majority of the time we see failure as a sign to stop and give up, however, failure can be as a motivator to improve and change. Try harder and persevere through all the difficulties and setbacks.

Failing tests, coursework or even feeling like a failure because you did not get up early. It is all normal. We are human and we are not perfect. We make mistakes, we learn, and we change. Failure should never stop you from trying. It may hurt to fail but use that pain to motivate you. Always try and never give up.

It is normal to fail, and it is normal to feel proud of yourself. These two feelings can coexist with each other. You can fail something but still be proud that you tried. Be proud of how far you’ve come and look at failure as a spark to improve.

Don’t let failure stop you, and you should be proud of yourself for overcoming things you never thought you could, and for that I am so proud of you.

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