In Others’ Words: Redefining Failure
Failure used to scare me — the thought that I would attempt something and not succeed. And because I was afraid of failing, I said no to a lot of things. Why try something if I couldn’t guarantee success?
If there’s one thing my writing journey has taught me, it’s that I’m going to experience times of success … and I’m also going to experience times of failure. The question is: How am I going to handle both? Does success define me? (No.) Does failure define me? (No.)
But the truth is, I had to learn that who I am is not defined by what what I do — by my successes or my failures. By the good days or the bad days. By the positive reviews or the negative ones. By finaling in a contest or not. Or winning an award or not. All of these things can be considered writing successes or failures — and, if I let them, they can become virtual gold stars or little black marks.
When I could separate my self from failure, I could learn from the experiences that didn’t go the way I hoped or planned. Failure was temporary, not final. Failure contained lessons to be learned, not condemnation. And I could move past it — and on to the next thing waiting for me along the writing road. The next dream. The next goal. The next “I want to try this, even though it’s scary” endeavor.
In Your Words: How have have you redefined failure so that it doesn’t stop you from pursuing your dreams?
In Others\’ Words: Redefining Failure http://wp.me/p63waO-2nW #quotes #perspective
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\”Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker…\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2nW #quotes #perspective
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