Embrace Failure
I see writing my autobiography as a chance to reflect on my life so far AND to see where I'm headed. It may seem weird, but I write this to hopefully motivate others to write/record their stories and to encourage them to live their lives to their fullest. This way their stories will be more meaningful and encouraging to others reading.
There are a lot of stories where I wish I would have done something different. There's nothing like reviewing my life to give me a bright view of all of my frailties.
Maybe you're like me and you can still feel the embarrassment of particular episodes in your life.
But what is it about failures, even past failures, that embarrasses me so much? Why do I find it difficult to confront failure?
Our parents instill a fear of failure early on. "Don't show off!" "Don't disappoint me!
It continues as we go to school. Grades are based on successful execution of assigned tasks. Experimentation is discouraged. Even in Science class, where experimentation is supposedly encouraged, your final grade is determined by your ability to come to the right answer. But what if you discover something new in the process? No matter. You failed to get it right.
Additionally, failure extends beyond the boundaries of right or wrong answers in the classroom. Failure also includes failing to live up to expectations: rational or irrational. "I'm disappointed in you."
Too often, success means living up to someone else's definition of what it means to succeed. It seems that just about everyone has a definition of success. And they're not afraid to tell you, or, even worse, impose their definition on you.
The point is that we want to be successful. So much so, that we avoid, no we shun/evade/steer clear of/stay away from new opportunities if we perceive a chance of failure. Let me rephrase that, we dismiss growing chances because we're too stinkin' afraid.
We're scared. It's so sad.
We need to change how we think about failure. Recently, I saw something on YouTube. Yeah, YouTube. I guess they have some worthwhile videos. I bumped into a video about Spanx founder, Sara Blakely. Her father used to ask his kids what they had failed at in the previous week.
He didn't ask about how they succeeded, but how they failed. Powerful stuff.
The question about succeeding encourages mediocrity. The children would be tempted to try only things at which they knew they could succeed.
You'll find success, as you accept that you might fail. Seems paradoxical. But it's the only way.
Have you truly fallen short recently? Truly?
I'm not talking about going out just to fail.
I'm saying try something different. Try something out of your comfort zone.
What's the one thing you've always wanted to be good at but have always been too afraid to try? Just do it.
Review the article on Starting an Autobiography . Robert Brady's Autobiography Workshop is a fantastic tool for writing an autobiography .
This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.
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