Never in a million years did I think I’d be writing an article about how my dying snake plant taught me a lesson, but here we are. Stay with me here, I promise the lesson is worth it.

I bought a snake plant when I moved into my first apartment at college, which means that I’ve had it for 3 years. I chose a snake plant because they’re well known for being indestructible and low maintenance. I figured that I could water it every other week, give it a little sun, and then sit back and watch it grow. Well, in three years I didn’t see any new growth whatsoever. My plant never changed.

This past spring I decided to change up the environment this plant was living in. I divided it into three sections and planted each in its own pot. No change. Maybe they needed more light? I put each one in different places around my house with varying degrees of light. One didn’t change at all, one shriveled up like a raisin (spider mites are nasty), and one had a crispy hole burned right through its leaves. Ok, so my plan failed.

I wasn’t ready to give up on this thing…not yet. I ditched the shriveled raisin one and replanted the other two together in one pot. After a few weeks, still nothing. At this point, I figured it was time to abandon my snake plant. It wasn’t growing and half of it was burnt to a crisp. On the day I decided to throw it in the woods, I picked it up and noticed a brand new plant pushing its way out of the soil. Three years, that’s how long it took for any new growth to happen. Now I’m happy to report that the new plant is becoming more established every day and the older plants are starting to produce new leaves as well. My snake plant is thriving.

So what did I learn and why does it matter? Well, there are actually a few lessons here.

First, your environment matters. Just like my snake plant did better or worse depending on its sunlight, temperature, and free space, people do better or worse depending on the conditions we’re living in. Learn what environments do and don’t work for you. Sometimes you can make small changes to your routines and your space to improve your circumstance, but sometimes a bigger move is necessary.

This brings me to my second lesson, trial and error are incredibly valuable. Your first try at something new will rarely lead you to success. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying. Sometimes you need to keep switching things up and experimenting until you figure out what works. You learn as much from your failures as you do from your successes and eventually you will get it just right.

And the last lesson, which is arguably the most important, is that you should never give up. On the exact day that I decided to turn my back on my snake plant, it decided to grow. The same thing can happen in our day-to-day lives. Never turn your back on your goals, your dreams, or yourself. You never know when success might surprise you, especially if you’re experimenting with trial and error.

I never thought I would learn so much from a plant and a dying plant at that. At the end of the day, my snake plant taught me that sometimes the timing, location, and conditions just aren’t right for you. But a little trial, error, and persistence will go a long way.

What lessons have you learned from your plants? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to read them!