Failure

When I hear the word  “failure” my brain immediately says “opportunity time!”  Failure was not a word I grew up hearing.  It just wasn’t in my parent’s vocabulary to their children. 

 

I very vividly remember hearing phrases that went something like this……

 

Did you do your best? 

What did you learn from this experience? 

What will you do differently next time? 

 

I would answer those questions and hear in response, depending on the situation,…..not everything is going to go the way you want or think….or if you look at it this way, you learned it didn’t work the way you tried and as a kid I learned it was OK to make mistakes.  If you look at the Miriam-Webster dictionary snippet that is above “Failure” is defined as an omission or occurrence of performance;specifically.  Ok, so I’ll bite, no, specifically I didn’t get the expected action or outcome, but what was learned was valuable life lessons that I took with me on my journey.

I truly believe that you only fail when you stop making an effort.  That is the only failure.   Giving up, throwing in the towel….ask yourself do you feel better when you stop reaching for what you most desire.  Learn from your mistakes, apply them to your current situation......improve, grow, stretch.  You don’t get stronger by sitting on the couch.  Any of us who have started a new workout or lifted weights knows all too well that you’ll be sore the next day or two after a good workout.

 Do the best you can, learn from your experiences and take joy in all you do.