If you’ve never failed, you’ve never lived

I’VE LET OTHERS tell me what I can and can’t do. It’s hard not to. I’ve told other people what they can and can’t do. Why? Is it something based on my own fears and insecurities? If I can’t do it, then you shouldn’t be able to either? I’ve convinced myself that I can’t do something, before I even try it. So if I fail, is it any surprise?

Photo: Tambako the Jaguar

Fail. I actually despise that word and all forms of it. You’re a failure. That’s bunk. No one fails. We try and we learn. It’s just a part of the process of achieving. And even if it’s something we decide that we don’t want to continue doing, that’s just part of the path we’re on. We’ve learned something. Learning is not failing.

I was in a marriage that didn’t work out. People always talk about “failed marriages” and “failed relationships.” No. I don’t agree with this. All relationships that I’ve had, romantic or otherwise, have taught me more about myself then I knew previously. They bring me closer to myself. And there were times in those relationships that were absolutely beautiful. How can those times be failures?

Can you cut the word “fail” out of your vocabulary?