Failure looks the same from outside. A failed exam is a failed exam , A rejection application is still a rejection , A lost opportunity is still lost but inside the human mind , not all failures are equal . They can be equal for rest of the world but not for you. There is gigantic difference between failing because you never tried and failing after giving everything you had and that difference quietly shape rest of your life.

When we do not try , we protect ourselves , we avoid criticism , we avoid possibility of looking foolish but in doing so, we create something far heavier than failure. We create doubt . Years later , the mind return to the same silent question. What if I had tried ? This question has no answer and that is why it is painful. Regret is not born form failure, it  is born form possibilities we never tested.

Now imagine a different situation . You worked hard , your prepared, you took the risk, you stood in the arena and still you failed .  Strangely , this failure is different . It hurts, yes . But it does not haunt you in the same way , because deep inside there is quiet peace. You know you give your best and when a person knows this , failure become a lesson instead of a wound. 

Failure without effort weakens confidence 
Failure after effort builds character 

At the end of life, people rarely regret their failures.

But they deeply regret the chances they never took.

The speech they never gave.
The dream they never pursued.
The risk they were too afraid to take.