Failing Forward

I think this t-shirt is right on the money! Of course, it depends on at which point you are standing on your Life timeline, and whether you are looking forward or looking back along that line. I know for me, when I look back along the timeline, FAILURE was absolute and I took it personally. That was only a short time ago...a matter of years. It's amazing how a few short years can make a difference to viewing FAILURE in the right context. And honestly...that's all it is, I believe. As John Maxwell said, "The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to Failure."

It reminds me of something Alby said to me just before he left for NZ (and he is doing wonderfully BTW)..."You're not like the younger girls - you don't have any baggage". HA! I had to set him straight on that one, real quick. I replied that it wasn't that I don't have any baggage, because I've had alot of shit happen in my life. It's just that I'm in a place right now where I've come through the worst of it (baggage), and I've finally figured some stuff out. And one of those things that's made the ultimate difference in the quality of my life is my response to failure. Because, I've failed alot. And every time after I failed, when I got back up and I dusted myself off, I would keep asking myself why? Alot of the time, I didn't get it, and kept going back for more, and there I would find myself...flat on the ground...sucker-punched again - not knowing why. Talk about a slow learner!

So how do you view failure? Could it be a reason why you are not moving forward? Are you afraid of failing?

So here I am...in a fantastic place. I know it's not going to be like this all the time. Life has a way of taking your legs from under you when you least expect it. However...I am now better prepared and believe it or not...I now view my failures as something to be proud of, because then I know I'm on the right track and moving in the right direction - forward.

If I'm failing then I know at least I'm having a crack at life and it will be a rich and rewarding one, full of exciting adventures and learnings. It makes me giddy just thinking about the next thing I'm going to have a crack at - and no doubt there'll be alot of failings in-between. But hell...aren't we just so lucky to have the soughts of lives that allow us to pursue whatever goal we aspire to? That, my friends is surely a gift to truly appreciate.

I leave you with an excerpt from the book by John C. Maxwell called 'Failing Forward'...

"It's All in How You Look At It

If you tend to focus on the extremes of success and failure and to fixate on particular events in your life, try to put things into perspective. When you do, you'll be able to share the philosophy of someone such as the apostle Paul, who was able to say, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." And that was saying alot, considering that Paul had been shipwrecked, whipped, beaten, stoned, and imprisoned. Throughout everything, his faith enabled him to maintain perspective. He realised that as long as he was doing what he was supposed to do, this being labeled success or failure by others really didn't matter.

Every person's life is filled with errors and negative experiences. But know this: Errors become mistakes when we perceive them and respond to them incorrectly. Mistakes become failures when we continually respond to them incorrectly.

People who fail forward are able to see errors or negative experiences as a regular part of life, learn from them, and then move on. They persevere in order to achieve their purpose in life.

Washington Irving once commented, "Great minds have purpose; others have wishes. Little minds are subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them."

The terrible truth is that all roads to achievement lead through the land of failure. It has stood firmly between every human being who had a dream and the realisation of that dream. The good news is that anyone can make it through failure. That's why author Rob Parsons maintained that "tomorrow belongs to the failures."

Too many people believe that the process is supposed to be easy. The prolific American inventor Thomas Edison observed that attitude among people. And this is how he responded: Failure is really a matter of conceit. People don't work hard because, in their conceit, they imagine they'll succeed without ever making an effort. Most people believe that they'll wake up some day and find themselves rich. Actually, they've got it half right, because eventually they do wake up.

Each of us has to make a choice. Are we going to sleep life away, avoiding failure at all costs? Or are we going to wake up and realise this: Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success. If we learn to embrace that new definition of failure, then we are free to start moving ahead - and failing forward."

Have a great day! :)