1. Failing once does not mean you’re a failure overall. You need to stop being so hard on yourself. Even if something didn’t work out the way you planned, that doesn’t mean you’re a failure and are never going to make anything of yourself. You wouldn’t call Stephen King a failure, would you? But it took him six years to get published after receiving his first rejection letter. He proves it takes time for your hard work to pay off. You aren’t always going to win on your first try.

2. Your failure is a sign of strength. If you think failing was the worst case scenario, think again. Quitting would have been the worst case scenario. You should be proud of yourself for failing because it means you tried. It means you took a risk. It means you put yourself out there.

3. You can always try again. Getting your heart broken by one person doesn’t mean you’re never going to fall in love again. Getting turned down from one job doesn’t mean you’re never going to work again. Failing once doesn’t mean it’s over for you. This isn’t the end. You can still keep going. You don’t have to give up hope.

4. Success looks different to different people. Some people consider six digit paychecks a sign of success. Others consider strong morals and strong relationships a sign of success. Remember, it’s impossible to impress everyone. That’s why you should create your own definition of success and strive to reach it. Stop caring about what others think.

5. Everyone moves at a different pace. Comparisons are dangerous because every situation is different. Your best friend might have gotten her dream job fresh out of college, but that doesn’t mean you’re falling behind. You have to stop dwelling on what other people are doing and focus on the path ahead of you because that’s the only one that matters.

6. You should never stop believing in yourself. You’re bound to mess up every once in a while. You’re never going to get it all right. That’s why you shouldn’t criticize yourself too much. Even when everyone gives up hope in you, you should never give up hope in yourself.

7. Success never comes easy. You’re not going to become an expert in your field overnight. You’re going to need to pour years of effort into a craft before you’ll feel confident enough to consider yourself successful — and that’s okay. That’s normal. You need to stay patient. You need to take things one day at a time.

8. Success isn’t going to bring you automatic happiness. Don’t overestimate how much success would change your universe. Yes, it would be nice, but it’s not automatically going to make you happier with yourself or your life. Happiness starts from within.

9. Failing teaches you valuable life lessons. Right now, you might feel like failing was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to you — but there’s always a silver lining. There must be something you learned from your failure. Instead of beating yourself up over whatever you did wrong, let yourself learn from it. Grow from it. Become a better person from it.