why how we think about failure determines our success

Here’s a question: what if failure is a good thing? What if it means something amazing just happened?

You dared.

You stepped outside your comfort zone. You were bold. And–even if you felt scared and nervous–you were courageous.

Story for You

I did an improv workshop recently. I haven’t done anything like that since high school. At the beginning of the workshop they had us agree to fail. And, not just agree to fail, but to celebrate it. We went around the room and everyone stepped forward, raised up their hands, stood out from the crowd and hollered “I failed!” Then everyone else clapped, cheered, hoorayed. Each time something didn’t flow, got stuck, or fell flat during the workshop, we’d all clap and cheer, whistle and CELEBRATE. “You did it! You failed!” Woohoo!

Questions for You

Because: – how can you ever succeed if you never fail? – how can your dreams ever become your reality if you’re too afraid to try? And: – what if the only way to get where you want to go is to try, and try again?

Famous People who Failed

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team–and rejected from the college that was his first choice to play for down the line. Thomas Edison tried over 1,000 times before he invented the light bulb. In other words, he failed over 1,000 times. Bruce Springsteen was an awkward, uncomfortable kid who didn’t know how to act around others.

Imagine

Imagine if they’d seen failure they way we do sometimes. Imagine if they made it mean that they should quit–or never try at all. Thankfully, for basketball, music and all the rest of us who love our light, they didn’t. You don’t have to, either. click to tweet: Failure isn’t something you will face. Failure is how you will get there.

Are you willing?

Are you willing to redefine what failure means to you? To step into your daring. To get excited about learning as you go. And do something amazing. Love Lindsey