Is it Okay to Fail?

Mick will be so proud of the Simpsons reference :) Via

Failure - something that was never in my vocabulary.

Throughout school we are told that failure is bad. Failing means that you aren't trying hard enough. Failing means that you will be kept back. Failing means that you will be seperated from your peers. Failing means that you will be sent to the principals office to have a talking to. Failing means not fitting in.

Failure.

Big fat F's.

After school we're unleashed into the big wide world, with the idea of failure being the worst possible thing in the back of our minds. Come to think of it, no wonder the big wide world can be such a daunting place.

There's so much pressure placed on us to decide what we want to do for our future at the ripe age of 17 or 18 when we either apply for university, TAFE, apprenticeships, jobs, or the dole. 

What do you want to do when you grow up? It's still something that I ask myself at 24. 

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The older you get, the more costly your "failures are". 

If you are at university, then failing a course could cost you up to $3,000.

If you are in a workplace, then failing to meet safety precautions could cost a life.

If you are sexually active and you fail to use protection on a one night stand, then you could end up with a baby.

The list goes and this idea of failure continues to rare it's ugly head and remain in the backs of our minds.

A presentation by a well renowned CEO of a huge world wide company opened up my eyes to the idea of failure the other day.

He said that we should "posess the courage to fail in order to succeed" (Alex Malley CEO CPA Australia).

His words stood out to me. Possess the courage to fail in order to succeed.

I started asking myself questions.

Are we so scared of failure that we no longer take risks?

Surely those people who discovered electricity, wrote books, walked on the moon and became famous movie stars took risks? 

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Is one of the reasons that they are so successful because they weren't scared of failure? 

What happens if we play on words and say that not taking risks is failing yourself? 

Not ever stepping outside of your comfort zone means that you are never achieving all that you could be?

Taking risks and having children, or applying for university, or going for that dream job of yours or even asking what it is that you truly want can be scary; terrifying infact. But I truly believe that we can't let the fear of failure stop us from doing what we really want - what our guts is telling us to do.

How about we start here with the statement "failing is an option and that's okay but taking a risk, grabbing life by the balls and doing what I really want is a far greater reward then never taking a risk at all. For those who take risks, achieve great things. Those who gain their dream job, have a family, write blogs, sing songs and do those amazing things, once upon a time took a giant risk that had the potential to fail. Did it stop them? No.

Sometimes we have to "fail" at something to put things in to perspective so that we know what we really want.

Sometimes failing is OKAY because it means that you are TRYING.

Sometimes failing is the ONLY way forward.
 

I sure don't want to live in a world where we're too scared of failure to make new discoveries.

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Where's the fun in that?

If at first you don't succeed....suck it up and try again.

What do you think about failure? Has the thought of failure ever stopped you from taking on a challenge? What risk have you taken that have paid off?

Look after yourself and those around you,

Kirsty xxxx

Failure isn't as scary if we can have a giggle about it and learn from our mistakes! Via