It is famously known that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger..

And we all know that, life has ups and downs. With ups meaning success and downs meaning failure. Funny!

But failure, somehow it still hurts when you experience it.

Failure is something we have failed to get used too, it still surprises us..

Sometimes the surprise last longer than the way we are surprised with success. Funny huh!

Failure is a part of life, a part that we don’t celebrate, we don’t accept and we don’t like. Oh! And we don’t post about.

Failure has a way of making us fall from cloud 9 abruptly, making us feel useless, purposeless and lost. Failure has a way of making us question everything. Maybe we didn’t grow up learning that it exists and is a part of life and that’s why we have a bad response to it happening to us or we live in a world that celebrates winning and so failing feels like you are taking a back seat on a world’s stage..

I don’t know, I really don’t know. Am also learning.

But just so you know, just because you have failed, it doesn’t mean you as a person are a failure.

You committed something, you are not that thing.

I think failure is a reminder that we are human, and that God is in control. It is a reminder to trust.

Also Read : 10 things to do after failure

Aaand…..

Here are 7 books that have been helpful to me when dealing with failure..

1. How to be a BAWSE – Lily Singh

I binge read this yesterday. It is amazing. This book was more of a guide to me. Lily Singh is a prominent Youtuber and she shared her journey from depression to where she is now. And she also shared how she stays true to herself, something that I love about her.

2. Sheryl Sandberg – Option B

I recommended this to a friend early this year and her feedback made me recommend this to you. I read Sheryl’s Lean In, but I haven’t read this yet. From my friend’s message, the title and some online reviews I can tell it is a good book when dealing with failure.

3. Elizabeth Day – How to Fail : Everything I’ve learnt from things going wrong

Oh I think I talked about how we don’t know how to deal with failure… This book is a celebration. She celebrates failure and it is a fun book about lessons, because at the end of the day, failures are lessons.

4. Robert Schuller – Tough times never last, tough people do

I read this when I was in high school, it changed me. It helped me realize that in life there will be so many tough times, I should not try to change times, I should try to change me.

5.Robert Schuller : Success is never ending, Failure is never final

I am that kind of a person who once I like something from a person, I just want more because I develop trust in what they can deliver. So this applies to books I read and music I listen to. When I read number 4, I searched for this too.. And friend, he delivered. This is a must read when you feel like a failure. Because you will realize that it is no the end.

6. Megan McArdle – The upside of down : Why failing well is the key to success

I haven’t read this.. But the title and the online reviews recommend this as a good book for when you are dealing with failure.

7. Megan Gebhart – 52 cups of coffee : Inspiring and insightful stories on navigating life’s uncertainties

I loved this book. So much. I think I love books that a writer takes a year challenge to learn, prove, discover or achieve something. So Megan took a year and had 52 coffees with strangers just to learn from them. I loved the wisdom shared in this book, the fact that they openly talked about feeling uncertain or like a failure sometimes and that they acknowledged that, that is a part of life was really uplifting for me. I highly recommend this to even graduates.

And a bonus one : Lysa Terkeurst – Uninvited : Living loved when you feel less than, left out and lonely.

And, those are 7 books I thought I could share with you today!

Eunice