Learning to Fail
How Nico Bambao learned that achieving success is hinged on one’s ability to accept defeat
When she was a teenager, Nico had begun to question why she was even pursuing painting and playing the piano.
Nico Bambao was missing out on hanging out with friends for something that had become routine. “All my friends were hanging out in somebody else’s house and I had to go home, because I had a piano lesson to attend to,” Nico shares. “And during that time, especially during the teenage years, medyo ano eh, parang, ‘Ano ba ‘to? Paulit-ulit na lang.’”
By this time, Nico thought she’d learned everything there was to know about playing the piano. “Alam ko na eh,” she says. Nico could read sheet music and even play by ear. In painting, it was the same: “I [had] joined a lot of competitions, even internationally,” she recounts. But Nico had yet to learn one of her most important lessons: how to fail.
In one painting competition, Nico was one win away from being inducted into the competition’s hall of fame. But because she had been consistently winning, Nico relaxed. Again, it was the same thing over and over again. “What happened was, I didn’t practice much; I became complacent,” she recalls. During the awarding ceremony, Nico failed to make it to the top 10.
What she realized, albeit later on, is the same thing she hopes to impart to her niece and nephew. Nico realized that her parents encouraged her to pursue painting and playing the piano not just to hone her talents, but to understand and learn from the craft. “Meaning, learn the definition of hard work, discipline, continuously leveling up,” Nico says. “Kasi nga sabi ng mom ko, ‘What I taught you was not just to win, but how to fail and how to get up.’” As it would turn out, this lesson would play a big role in taking on life’s challenges.
Getting Back Up
When asked about how she defines renewal, Nico echoes her lesson in getting back up. “Renewal for me is being able to find that strength, to push yourself despite hardships and uncertainties,” she says. This theme would play a recurring role in her life, particularly when Nico was in law school.
Much like she was an accomplished painter and piano player, Nico was an outstanding student. But in law school, Nico got her first failing mark, for a subject that she even loved. “I really had to cry and say, ‘Paano, paano nangyari?’” But law school is a different kind of animal, Nico says. Fortunately, she was still able to graduate on time — “But it was a humbling experience.” Nico learned that simply working hard and being consistent didn’t mean smooth sailing. “There are times that you’ll just encounter a challenge, or there will be a stumbling block.”
Her journey with law school wouldn’t end without another hurdle. While she was studying, Nico was already a working executive, and a new challenge presented itself when she was about to take the bar exam. Her company at the time gave her two months to prepare for the exam. “Sabi ko,” Nico shares, “This is kinda crazy.” Nico basically gave up her life to pass law school — she worked a demanding work schedule during the weekdays, and during the weekends studied law. “Wala talagang pahinga,” Nico recalls, “And that was for five straight years of my life.”
Nico failed her first try at the bar exam. It was a difficult time: apart from failing, Nico had a lot on her plate. On top of her demanding job, her father had gotten sick with cancer. “So parang ang daming nangyayari, sabi ko, ‘Ano ba ‘to, pine-prevent ba talaga ako maging lawyer?”
But looking back now, Nico views this time as an important lesson in perseverance. She goes back to what she learned as a child, that she won’t always win the first time around. “You just have to consistently believe in yourself, pursue whatever it is that sets your soul on fire,” Nico declares.
Exploring possibilities
Nico never thought she would get into fitness. “I was never a sporty kind of person,” Nico shares. “Kung kakausapin ko yung mga kaibigan ko nung high school, even college, sasabihin nila, ‘Hindi ikaw yan,’’’ Nico says with a laugh. When she was in law school, Nico got a fatty liver. Her father also passed away from cancer. “Sabi ko, kailangan ko maging healthy.”
Nico started going to the gym. “Nagpaka-buff-buff kunwari, and then I eventually started doing my own obstacle course racing,” Nico shares. She would go on to join the Spartan Race, one of the most well-known obstacle course races around the world, with versions in 30 different countries. With the same determination she had with learning the piano, Nico sought to attain the Spartan Trifecta Medal. To get this medal, Nico had to complete the Spartan Sprint (five kilometers with 20 obstacles), the Spartan Super (10 kilometers with 25 obstacles), and the Spartan Beast (21 kilometers with 30 obstacles).
Nico completed the three races within one year and got her medal. “I was very, very happy,” Nico beams. She says that even if she wasn’t at the top of her age group, this feat was something she was able to prove to herself. “Masaya ako because I was able to say to myself, ‘Ah okay, kaya ko rin pala maging sporty.’”
In 2020, in lieu of a physical race, Spartan Race held a virtual one instead, and Nico joined from home. Naturally, she also encouraged her niece and nephew to join the Spartan Race for Kids. “Pinagpu-push-ups ko,” Nico shares, adding with a laugh: “‘Yung isa, ‘yung pamangkin kong eight years old medyo mayabang na, nagpu-push-up na one-hand push-up.” Nico proudly shares that both her niece and nephew even got their own medals from the virtual race. “So sabi ko nga, ‘After the pandemic kailangan mag-Spartan na kayo talaga.’ They’re very excited.”
Neal Corpus
Author
