If you think of failure as the opposite of success, in order to define failure you must first define success.

If success is achieving the goal you set, you may ask yourself – how about the situations in which you do not achieve what you planned for, but exactly because of that, you end up achieving some other unexpected, even better goals?

I say this is success too.

If you assume this as a possible way of thinking, then there is no such thing as failure. Because you always achieve something – even if not exactly what you originally aimed for.

By the way, this happens all the time.

I say this is life.

Perhaps success is the ability of seeing existence and career without the burden and the extra anxieties brought by the conventional idea of “success”.

Perhaps failure is to be unable of escaping the heavy, dark idea of “failure”.

I say the best definition of failure, in one’s life or career, is the very fear of failing.

I say the best definition of success is to break free from the slavery of the “success” canon.

However, for this exercise proposed by the Bad Portfolio Project, I thought of something I would like to have the opportunity to go back in time so I could do it differently.

I picked one situation – that was/is recurrent in my life.

Staying longer than I should in hostile places. Among the wrong people. Insisting in situations that were clearly destined for not getting anywhere. I always thought I could turn things and persons around. I always thought it was my obligation to make situations right. I wasted precious time and personal health on those inglorious battles.

My battle has been not putting myself anymore in this kind of battle. Some situations are imperfect. Some things are twisted. Some people are unkind. And there is nothing much I could do about it – but going on with my life.

Adriano Silva