Pep Talk for College Students and Young Adults: When “Failure” and Disappointment Lead to Growth

Hello this is Beth Capecchi and this is going to be my first peptalk (of many, I hope). This one is geared for young adults and college students, even though it could apply to anyone at any age. Almost EVERYONE feels like a failure at times, and gets disappointed in themselves and their jobs/career path in early adulthood. It can be very hard and discouraging to figure out what you will enjoy and be good at, but trust me, you ARE GIFTED. Traditional education doesn’t always uncover our gifts. Please don’t lose hope if you dislike your first job, if you don’t do as well as you expected to do in college, or if your employers seem to be disappointed in you. You will figure it out and one thing you can guarantee in life is that it will be an adventure. Almost every older adult that you know how to some sort of disappointment in themselves or in their career path along the way. Many people don’t end up doing what they set out to do. Life has a way of bringing you over bumps and through valleys before you end up where you need to be if you don’t give up and lose hope. Fear and anxiety are natural, but they fade as your perspective gets healthier. This episode was inspired and recorded immediately following Beth’s session with a 19-year-old who had an absolutely terrible first year of college, academically and emotionally. She was so disappointed in herself that she isolated herself rather than talking about it, and ended up severely depressed and had to withdraw from school second semester freshman year. But when she started opening up to her parents and in therapy, she started thinking differently and having a lot of hope. She has confidence in herself and she is starting her second year of college full of optimism about her future, and she knows that it will be good even if it’s not her “Plan A. “ She deserves an honorary degree in wisdom and perspective and this should be the proudest moment of her parents (and every parent) whose child has learned to think this way about life. Success is not about grades or income, it’s in the way you think and approach life. Don’t give up til you get to a healthy mindset.  Listen to this episode and more: neverperfect.org Follow us on instagram @neverperfectpodcast Please rate and review this podcast. Send us an email with any feedback or requests: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices