I dislike failure. I'm not aware of anyone who really enjoys it.
Often times, it is the fear of failure that keeps us from pursuing our dreams and goals.
Pursuing my dream of running and speaking across Iowa, the word FAILURE often popped it's ugly head around each corner.
What if you fail? What will you do then?
What happens when people don't react the way you want them to?
What happens when you make a fool of yourself?
Well, yesterday, I failed.
My goal was to run 68-miles to Iowa City.
Since the beginning of the Awake My Sole journey, I had been looking forward to this run with eager anticipation. My hope was to push myself further than I had ever pushed myself before.
I failed. I wasn't able to complete the task at hand. The task I so desperately wanted to complete.
I knew this day would come, and here are some of my "day-after" thoughts of my encounter with failing
Failure, often keeps us from pursuing what we know we should pursue.
This might sound weird, but looking back on yesterday, I'm okay with failure. I've stepped out and risked everything on this journey. My livelihood, my career, my all.
I may not have finished the 68-miles yesterday, but I did push myself in ways I didn't think were possible.
I'm going to liken Failure to burned prairie grasses. Every couple of years, prairie grasses are burned down. They burn so that the nutrients from the ashes may go back into the soil, into the ground. Soon after the burning, the prairie grasses begin growing again, healthier, because they have more nutrients in the soil.
In the same way. Failure is like prairie grass burned. It is dead. But failure often promotes a tension in which the individual must live in. Out of this tension, the person can grow. If the person grows, they learn from their failure and try again, maybe one step closer to whatever it is they need to be.
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| Prairie Grasses burned in Ames Iowa |
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| If you look closely, you can see the grasses already growing back. In time, they will grow healthier |
I don't like failing. However, I'm realizing it is essential to living a meaningful life.
Would our journeys be meaningful if they were always easy and fun? Of course not, and failure is essential to the journey.
Some good failure quotes:
"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."
John Wooden
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
Henry Ford
"There are no such thing as failure, there are only results."
Tony Robbins
"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying."
Michael Jordan
"I do not believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process."
Oprah Winfrey
"Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street."
Zig Ziglar
"It is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate."
George Burns
"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."
Bill Gates
"Failure is unimportant, it takes courage to make a fool of yourself."
Charlie Chaplin
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| Beginning the journey to Iowa City |
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| Getting closer. And growing more exhausted. |
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| Calling it quits. The sun going down. 14 hours of running. I was tired. Pushed myself 15 additional miles. |
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