“There is no such thing as failure, only feedback”—Robert Allen, author of The Four Maps of Happy Successful People
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
“There are two kinds of people in this world: those who want to get things done, and those who don’t want to make mistakes.”—John Maxwell, author, speaker, and pastor
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”—Elbert Hubbard, writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher.
“12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press ontoward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 3:12-14
As we think about this new year and about creating adventure in our lives, we also must think about the main thing that gets in our way: fear of failure. Nothing stops us in our tracks like the chance that we might not succeed and that we might do so in some great fiery explosion of embarrassment and failure. This fear is so great and so paralyzing that many of us keep are dreams hidden deep inside ourselves.
They seem safe there, where no one can touch them, attack them, or change them. These dreams feel like living things; precious, breathing beings. They feel like extensions of who we are. So, the stakes are high.
Failure becomes something to fear because it feels like failure would kill us. But in reality, failing is not the deathblow. It might hurt like someone punched you in the stomach but it is not the end. It’s not the end of your idea, your hope, or your dream.
Failure is only feedback. It is an indicator to do something differently, to learn something new, to improve in some way. Failure tells you what NOT to do— which is just as valuable as knowing exactly what you should do. Failure is simply valuable information, though it might sting a bit (or a lot).
God did not call us to be timid, weak people. We are called to be brave, bold, and passionate. That means moving past fear of failure, that means moving past failure itself, and moving to a place of determination. Failing now on something you care about will get you farther than doing nothing or waiting for the perfect moment. If you wait till it’s perfect, you’ve waited too long. Move past fear. Mess up a little bit or a lot. Learn. Grow. And just watch, you might amaze yourself.
Blessings,
The Witheos Team