Failures can be fun

A while ago I kept posting things like these on my Facebook wall:

[Achievement Unlocked] Biking in the rain.

[Achievement Unlocked] Biked from Bornsesteeg to Ede (7.4 km) with a medium-sized rice cooker and textbooks. 

[Achievement Unlocked] Let go of your left/right hand off the bike handle for 15 seconds while riding the bike without losing balance.

Some of my friends told me that these posts make my learning-how-to-bike days something you'd see on your smartphone games. It's not entirely wrong. Compare this:

"Today was really shitty because it rained and I had to bike 7.4 km from home to school :("

to

"[Achievement Unlocked] Biking in the rain"

Both of them tell you the same event, but from different angles. You can make your days feel rough, but you can also make your day seem better because you achieved something new. I actually look forward to improving myself because I can post new things like "biking while texting on my phone" or something like that.

Earlier today someone asked me how long did it take for me to learn how to bike, and I said 2 hours. And she was amazed. But what happened within those two hours was:

I fell every 5 seconds I was on the bike, stood up, brought my bike up on the slope, went down the slope, fell, stood up again, and repeated everything until I got the hang of it. I stepped over a pile of dog poo. I broke my bike's bell. Nasty bugs stung my arms. I was drenched in sweat and I smelled like fermented shit. My legs were severely bruised (my mom couldn't stop worrying after seeing a palm-sized bruise on my leg).

That sounded like a complain. Truth to be told, it was not the most pleasant experience ever, but I can make a good story out of it. I got a lot of mixed reaction from people:

"That's cool! You finally managed to ride a bike!"
"What? You only learned how to bike at this age?"
"Well,  there's an easier way to learn this."
"Congratulations, you made it!"

and a conversation started. It's fun to talk about it, and every time I remember those two hellish hour, I become increasingly motivated to challenge more absurd things that I have to face.

Something that doesn't kill you makes you stronger, as people say :)

When you face failure, I'm sure you feel terrible (or at the very least, you are not too happy about it). But once you get over a failure, and if you positively think about it in future, it can turn into something fun. This is what I tell myself over and over again, and this is why I can keep smiling in times of adversities.