Reframe Failure in an Academic or Professional Context

You failed the exam, missed the place, or scored badly after real effort, and now you are stuck deciding whether you are simply not good enough. This treats the failure as information rather than a final judgement: what it actually tells you, what it does not, and how to move from there. Suited to anyone replaying a setback on a loop.

<context>
You have experienced {FAILURE_CONTEXT} (e.g. failing an exam, being rejected from a programme, underperforming in an assessment, or receiving a poor grade after significant effort). You are struggling to move forward because [describe your current mindset: e.g. questioning whether you are capable / feeling like you wasted time / dreading trying again].
</context>

<task>
**Reframe the failure as data and build a recovery path:**
1. Distinguish between performance failure (what you did) and identity failure (who you are), and why conflating them is the core problem
2. Conduct a cold debrief: what specifically went wrong, separate from how it felt
3. Identify what would need to be different for a different outcome: skills, preparation, strategy, or circumstances
4. Design a return plan: the minimum credible next step
5. Write the reframe: what this failure tells you that success would not have
</task>

<output_format>
- Performance vs identity distinction (2-3 sentences, grounding)
- Cold debrief (bullets: specific contributing factors, no self-criticism)
- What would need to change (skills / prep / strategy / circumstance, one paragraph)
- Return plan (one concrete next step with a timeline)
- The reframe (2-3 sentences: what you learned that success would have hidden)
</output_format>