Wednesday

The Wisdom of Embracing Failure



Most of us, most of the time, fear failure. We hold back. We don’t try. We keep a low profile. All because we fear the dreaded “f” word.

The problem with this particular fear, maybe more than any other kind of fear, is it keeps us playing small. Really small. The new book, the new painting, the new website, the new blog, the new job, all get put to the “back burner.” Usually, they never get done.


But why? Why fear failure? There is no good answer for this. In many cases, the cost issue is no longer an excuse. With everything online, "I don't know how" is no longer an excuse. We just need to learn to push through the fear and keep pushing through it step by step.

Pema Chodran’s new book Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknownis on the reading list. This book comes at a good time when so many people are holding back from unleashing their greatness. The time to get started is now.


A takeaway for this topic might be this quote from Jeff Bridges. He says, “Live like you're already dead, man. Have a good time. Do your best. Let it all come ripping right through you.”