“If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough”
I saw this quote on Pinterest last night and was instantly inspired by it. I think everyone, myself included, underestimates the importance of failing.
Failing isn’t fun. It doesn’t feel good. But it is so important to life. It’s where growth happens, where new opportunities present themselves, where new people can enter our lives, and where we have the potential to be happier than we were before.
I thought back to some of my failures in life, and I am so grateful for them!
I started University with the intent to be a highschool science teacher. One of the requirements of the program was a C+ in Calculus. I failed first year Calculus despite having a tutor, and working my butt off. I quickly realized that maybe the sciences weren’t where I was meant to be. Who knows, if I hadn’t failed that class I could be in a highschool Chemistry classroom right now!
My first year of photography, I failed. I failed to book any weddings, and I failed to get my business off the ground. What it taught me was what wasn’t working. It gave me a starting place for year two. It gave me such overwhelming determination to succeed in my second year that in my mind I succeeded more than I ever imagined I would.
I think of the few failed relationships I had in highschool and University. How upset I was after they failed, and how glad I am today that they did fail. If they hadn’t of failed, I wouldn’t be married to my amazing husband. I wouldn’t have my same two kids.
I love projects, I love working on bettering and growing in every area of my life. I recently finished reading “The Happiness Project” (for the 3rd time!) and the sequel “Happier at Home” and plan on starting my own Happiness Project (again…I failed the first one! I realize now the timing of when I started wasn’t ideal….right at the start of my busiest wedding season!) and one of the goals I am giving myself is to fail more.
Failing more means many different things. It means I am trying new things more often. It means I am putting myself out there more. I am taking risks and not stressing over the “what ifs” (which is something I do ALLLLLL the time! I tend to be a little bit of a worrier!)
The funny thing about failure though, is that the harder you try, the more you put yourself out there, the more risks you take, yes you will fail more, but you will also succeed more as well :)
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well have not lived at all, in which case you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling
