The Importance of Failure
oedipa_maas
Posts: 577 Member
I’ve gained weight this week and gotten very wobbly with my diet. I feel bad about it. For whatever reason, though, I’m thinking of challenges and failures as gifts rather than a stone around my neck, proclaiming to the world I’m weak.
There is power in failing. At such crossroads we are forced to stop. We are forced to consider, very deliberately, which way we should go. We are also forced to confront the question: “How much do I want this? Should I just give up? Where do I go from here?” We have a chance to promise ourselves that we won’t abandon the road, that we won’t slink back to familiar places where we just let ourselves rot. It’s not for lack of bravery we give up, I think. Courage is on a spectrum and it can change depending on the context. Each time we get up and try again, we build our character, which helps build our health and body, which gives us the strength to promise ourselves, once again, that we can reach the next goal post, and the one after that, and because life is this way, all the stopping places, good and hard, that follow. There is no true end if you are determined to keep growing and learning. That means there is always—ALWAYS—another chance, a different angle, many side journeys that should not be see as wastes of time or inessential. Like failures, deviations from the path can hold great lessons and great gifts.
Success propels you, you speed along, getting energy from the momentum , the journey like the wind at your back, helping you along (although it is really you helping you along). There is such a thing as success; we all know what it looks and feels like when we taste it. But for me, my failures teach me the most about who I am and what I am capable of. They keep me humble (mostly…). Failure burnishes me, and without it, I can’t succeed.
There is power in failing. At such crossroads we are forced to stop. We are forced to consider, very deliberately, which way we should go. We are also forced to confront the question: “How much do I want this? Should I just give up? Where do I go from here?” We have a chance to promise ourselves that we won’t abandon the road, that we won’t slink back to familiar places where we just let ourselves rot. It’s not for lack of bravery we give up, I think. Courage is on a spectrum and it can change depending on the context. Each time we get up and try again, we build our character, which helps build our health and body, which gives us the strength to promise ourselves, once again, that we can reach the next goal post, and the one after that, and because life is this way, all the stopping places, good and hard, that follow. There is no true end if you are determined to keep growing and learning. That means there is always—ALWAYS—another chance, a different angle, many side journeys that should not be see as wastes of time or inessential. Like failures, deviations from the path can hold great lessons and great gifts.
Success propels you, you speed along, getting energy from the momentum , the journey like the wind at your back, helping you along (although it is really you helping you along). There is such a thing as success; we all know what it looks and feels like when we taste it. But for me, my failures teach me the most about who I am and what I am capable of. They keep me humble (mostly…). Failure burnishes me, and without it, I can’t succeed.
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Replies
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I love this!! I think we have been on a parallel path lately. I think that our failures, deviations, and the bumps in the road that we encounter ( or cause), are all true opportunities for growth. I tend to do more self- examination when i am struggling, and there is a lot of emotion and history wrapped up in my relationship with food, as there is with most of us. If i just cruise though this process without any struggles or setbacks, i think i won't address any of my underlying mindset and ways of behaving and coping that got me where i was. I also need to know that i am having problems with this in order to work on being proactive in taking care of me... not always as natural as taking care of everyone else in my life... great post
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We all fear failure, losing and not being the best but what we forget is we don't grow from perfection, we grow from our struggles and failures. What we are capable of is usually restricted by our minds - So we must try to over power that mental negativity we may get and continue with our actions we need to reach our goals.0
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Excellent post! I feel that the successes I cherish the most are the ones I have truly had to work hard and long for. I am working hard on this journey, harder than I ever have before. I finally feel like I am doing the right thing because the struggles and intermittent failure days remind me that in the end I will appreciate what I have done, been through and accomplished!0
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I have a quote on my fridge
"If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now"0 -
YES!! This!0
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Great post. Well said.0
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Thank you this makes me feel better about myself . Instead of digging deeper into a hole it make me feel that I have now learned something about mysel
f. Thank you.0 -
I’ve gained weight this week and gotten very wobbly with my diet. I feel bad about it. For whatever reason, though, I’m thinking of challenges and failures as gifts rather than a stone around my neck, proclaiming to the world I’m weak.
There is power in failing. At such crossroads we are forced to stop. We are forced to consider, very deliberately, which way we should go. We are also forced to confront the question: “How much do I want this? Should I just give up? Where do I go from here?” We have a chance to promise ourselves that we won’t abandon the road, that we won’t slink back to familiar places where we just let ourselves rot. It’s not for lack of bravery we give up, I think. Courage is on a spectrum and it can change depending on the context. Each time we get up and try again, we build our character, which helps build our health and body, which gives us the strength to promise ourselves, once again, that we can reach the next goal post, and the one after that, and because life is this way, all the stopping places, good and hard, that follow. There is no true end if you are determined to keep growing and learning. That means there is always—ALWAYS—another chance, a different angle, many side journeys that should not be see as wastes of time or inessential. Like failures, deviations from the path can hold great lessons and great gifts.
Success propels you, you speed along, getting energy from the momentum , the journey like the wind at your back, helping you along (although it is really you helping you along). There is such a thing as success; we all know what it looks and feels like when we taste it. But for me, my failures teach me the most about who I am and what I am capable of. They keep me humble (mostly…). Failure burnishes me, and without it, I can’t succeed.
OP Thanks for sharing.:flowerforyou: Never really thought about it that way.0 -
Amen.0
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Why you need to fail (long video, but awesome if you have the time):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhxcFGuKOys&feature=youtube_gdata_player 0 -
Sometimes I have to recommit to my goal every single day!! I consider it my "practice".0
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Yes to all of this0
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CoSign!
It has taken me a long time to learn this lesson. Some days I ask myself which I want more. To eat this giant thing or ice cream or keep losing. Some days I have chosen the ice cream some days I chose to lose.0 -
I love this!! I think we have been on a parallel path lately. I think that our failures, deviations, and the bumps in the road that we encounter ( or cause), are all true opportunities for growth. I tend to do more self- examination when i am struggling, and there is a lot of emotion and history wrapped up in my relationship with food, as there is with most of us. If i just cruise though this process without any struggles or setbacks, i think i won't address any of my underlying mindset and ways of behaving and coping that got me where i was. I also need to know that i am having problems with this in order to work on being proactive in taking care of me... not always as natural as taking care of everyone else in my life... great post
Beautifully said! And it is exactly how I feel. It gives me more hope that this time I'll be able to stop the yo' yo'ing, because instead of fighting myself at every step, or throwing up my hands when I hit those bumps, I'll embrace the difficulties and see what they can teach me.0 -
We all fear failure, losing and not being the best but what we forget is we don't grow from perfection, we grow from our struggles and failures. What we are capable of is usually restricted by our minds - So we must try to over power that mental negativity we may get and continue with our actions we need to reach our goals.
Absolutely.0 -
Excellent post! I feel that the successes I cherish the most are the ones I have truly had to work hard and long for. I am working hard on this journey, harder than I ever have before. I finally feel like I am doing the right thing because the struggles and intermittent failure days remind me that in the end I will appreciate what I have done, been through and accomplished!
That's how I feel too! I find that feeling of accomplishment goes deeper when you've grappled your way toward your goals. I'd like to think that when we wrestle with our body/health challenges and come out the other side, the change will not be ephemeral. The roots will be stronger.0 -
I have a quote on my fridge
"If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now"
I love this!0 -
Great post. Well said.
Thanks Ani!0 -
Thank you this makes me feel better about myself . Instead of digging deeper into a hole it make me feel that I have now learned something about mysel
f. Thank you.
The struggle can be so hard at times. I think I've been more patient with the bumps and turns now that I'm filtering them through a belief that no struggle is in vain.0 -
Why you need to fail (long video, but awesome if you have the time):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhxcFGuKOys&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Thank you! I'm definitely going to check it out.0 -
Sometimes I have to recommit to my goal every single day!! I consider it my "practice".
Practice -- what a great way to express it. My Buddhist friend has his practice--multifaceted and deep--and I like the idea that I too have my own practice. I actually think the goals might be the same between he and I. That is, working on life's complexities, sorrows and triumphs toward a productive and peaceful self.0 -
If you never have bad days, you're probably not doing it right. If you never have good days, you're definitely not doing it right.0
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CoSign!
It has taken me a long time to learn this lesson. Some days I ask myself which I want more. To eat this giant thing or ice cream or keep losing. Some days I have chosen the ice cream some days I chose to lose.
And either way, we are engaging with ourselves. Your approach acknowledges our agency, our power of decision. So often in my past I have felt helpless and therefore hopeless. Trying to live more deliberately with less resistance has been paying off this time around.0 -
I think Michael Jordan said it best:
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
You view on failing is really that of one of the greatest winners of our time. And therefore i have little doubt you, too, will succeed.0 -
If you never have bad days, you're probably not doing it right. If you never have good days, you're definitely not doing it right.
That's great! Exactly this.0 -
:drinker: 0 -
I think Michael Jordan said it best:
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
You view on failing is really that of one of the greatest winners of our time. And therefore i have little doubt you, too, will succeed.
Just a few days ago I posted Gretzky's quote about you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." I love this Jordan quote, thanks!0 -
I this post so hard 0
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I have a quote on my fridge
"If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now"
The whole post is great..especially the reply above0 -
I have a quote on my fridge
"If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now"
Wow. That sums it up beautifully.0
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