Failure is something we all have to deal with from time to time. As much as we want to be successful, the best laid plans can be derailed. However, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that you have to pass failure in order to be successful and that it’s ok to fail.
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A few weeks ago, when I decided I was going to go back to the original reason that I started this blog, I made big plans. Nothing was going to get in the way of my Carrie Bradshaw dreams of a weekly column that would have the New York Times banging down my door. I was going to get organised and ensure that I would do what needed to be done. Failure was no longer an option. To start, I researched writing courses and the types of qualifications that would make me stand out from all of the other writers. By the time I was finished with that, I realised I had the next 4 or 5 years of my life planned out with studying my craft. Then, I started by making a list of possible posts that I could do for The Weekly. One of my biggest problems can be that I leave inspiration to strike, and sometimes inspiration doesn’t. The list had around 25 different post ideas, and if I managed to write about one of those every week, there was nearly 6 months worth of weekly content. All I had to do was put my ass in a seat and type them out. But life had other plans.
You may have noticed last week there was no The Weekly post, and there is no good reason for it. I could say that life got busy, that horror had befallen my existence, and those would be lies. I just forgot to write something. I didn’t remember until Wednesday, the day it was supposed to go live on the site, when I was out of the house for the day and had no possible way of crafting a post in time. Silently, I scolded myself for being so stupid. I knew I was supposed to write the post, it was all planned out. However, my own laziness had gotten the better of me and I didn’t get my ass in the seat in time to get a post started.
On Thursday morning, I woke up and stared at my beside table and laughed. A few weeks ago, I had changed the little card that sat beside me. In theory, I should look at these cards every morning and be inspired to take action. The effect should be that I read it and want to carpe the shit out of the deim. These cards rarely have this effect on me. The only effect that they have ever had is making me roll my eyes at the bullshit they have printed on them to the point that my eyes roll to the back of my head and I fall asleep again. For the first time, they had an effect on me. The day before, I had failed with the simplest thing. Fallen at the first hurdle. Neglected the task. Made a misfire. You get the point. I had failed but it was ok. It’s ok to fail. On my way to success, there would be a lot of failing. The difference is that I would not let this failure define me. On the grand scale of things, it was a little one, yet still a teachable moment.
I might not have it together yet, there will still be plenty of failures. Along the way, there will be big ones and small ones. But I will not let these stop me from getting to where I want to be or living the life that I want. For now, this little card will remain by bed as a reminder that I have failed a lot over the years but that is what happens on the way to success.