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| Them Apples |
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
Theodore Roosevelt
Which is worse, failure or never trying to succeed? Apparently more people are afraid to succeed; they stop all attempts at the very notion of failure. What will happen if I don't succeed? What happens if I fail?
We all enjoy watching a toddler take his/her first steps. Invariably they stumble and fall usually hard on their bottoms. Miraculously they do not give up their will to stand up. They raise themselves up again with more determination. They do not worry about falling down and the consequences of failure. Learn from the toddler.
A wise man once said that we should observe children and that we should be like them. When I think of failure, I know I have to be childlike and free from failure anxiety. A child does not think about falling, instead the child thinks about the success of walking and the independence it offers. In order to walk a child knows that he will fall. Failure is not the fall but rather the investment required for success. It is nothing more than a research and development cost. It is a success expense and an investment in yourself. Know that you can fall but that it is a means to reach your walking goal. Keep your eyes focused on success.
Well written Al. With me, I'm not afraid of succeeding or failing. Failure is a non issue with me as I seem to encounter it often enough to understand that it isn't the end all.
ReplyDeleteWhat burdens grown ups more than children isn't failure, it's the cost of failure. When we are kids, there isn't anything really that you can lose wen you fail. You just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again. As an adult, that ultimate failure can come with the cost of losing it all.
Even though my childhood was very difficult, sometimes those days seem so much easier than these days I am in now.
Cheers my friend :o)