Lightbulbs after Losing, Future after Failure, and Dawn after Dark

Thomas Edison, who is famously known for inventing the lightbulb, once said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." I think he’s right, and if you listen to a lot of people who have found success in their businesses, careers, or even personal life achievements like marriage, they will say the same thing. It’s right when you feel like you’re at your darkest moment that the light is the closest. If you don’t give up and keep pushing through, you will make it.

When I read that quote last week, I thought of starting my teaching job at my current school. Last year, though I was enjoying major parts of the job, I remember feeling like it was so overwhelming and maybe teaching wasn’t for me after all. That was in mid-September. Then October came, and I had a break and felt a little better. Then November came, and I felt even better. December came, and I had a strong finish to the semester. But the key was right after that: January. When we came back for the second semester, it was like a light turned on and life made sense. Everything seemed more flawless, from relationships with students to learning how to teach complex concepts to 9^th graders.

Things were looking up, and by the end of the year, I was really enjoying it. I was actively telling people I love my job, second guessing if that was true. But it was, and now I can confidently say that and am so glad I decided not to hang up my hat as soon as things got hard. Failure seemed close, but success was actually much closer.

What is something you are doing now that feels like a struggle? It might be the start of something hard, but it could also be the darkest point of the night, and a few steps away from a breakthrough. You might be on the brink of something tough or one step closer to the next incandescent lightbulb. Either way, it won’t last forever, and success might be on the other side.