I have failed more times during the past year than I have done in perhaps, the past 20 years, and I am feeling great.
“Great?” you ask, “What is great about failure? Failing is for losers. So you are a failure and a loser.”
“Yes, I am!”
Do you know why I said that I faced very little failure during the past 20 years? It was because I had not been trying anything new. I was living the same old life, doing the same old thing, no failure, no growth, as stagnant as a mossy pond, one that not even frogs nor minnows wanted to swim in. But this year saw me failing and growing. Each time I heard no, it sounded like yes to me, each rejection was a round of applause, each refusal was music to my ears because I was growing and expanding and becoming a better version of myself.
If the last time you failed at something was about 20 years ago like me, then you are not living, not reaching for more, not becoming the best that you can be. It is not easy, we can get trapped in a mindset that does not encourage trial, must less failure. We cite fear, lack of self-confidence, settling for less, low self-esteem, disbelief as all the synonyms for not attempting something new.
But, I encourage you to give failure a whirl.
Your first taste of the gut-wrenching no can be the inspiration for your next great success because it means that you are cleaning out your pond, removing the mud and the debris, stirring the stagnant waters, and allowing oxygen to flow, creating a new you where failure has no choice but to breed ultimate success.