For most people who have given their best, to hear that one has failed is not comfortable. But failure is a necessary part of eventual success, and to positively deal with it is a required skill in becoming successful.
A former boss once told me that I couldn’t write if I tried.
In her eyes I had failed. She was having a bad day and I never found out if she really meant it or if I was her lightning rod. But in many ways she made me think. What if I couldn’t write? I’m a photographer not a writer. Would it really matter? Would the world stop spinning just because of my incessant tries and perceived failures at lining up the right words in the right order?
Of course not, the worst that could happen is that nobody would care to read my writings. And would that matter? Not in the final analysis. What does matter however is that I get a sense of pleasure from writing and that it often brightens my day. For me, it doesn’t have to be good, it has to be fun! And it has to keep my sister amused. What really really matters is that I still try and that I’m allowed to find my limits. And to find those limits I’ll eventually have to fail.
The recent rugby world cup final highlighted that failure and success are often very close. Success rarely comes without the risk of failure. Watch a baby learn to walk.
What would have happened had the All Blacks lost the final? How different would be the perception of their efforts had the French converted just one try? It was thrilling and it was close. What was clear is that each one of these All Blacks accepted the risk of failure for a chance at success.
Risk taking and risk management should be savored as much as a successful outcome. The latter will eventually follow the former.
We need to try things out, and be prepared to fail. How else would we ever discover if we could be good, or even great, at anything? We all could have been world beaters if only we had………….you get my drift…………..
To that end I propose a national failure day. A holiday where everybody goes out of their way to try something new. A day on which we push ourselves and try our very best to fail, to find our current limits. And with it to maybe find a new inspiration and hidden talent.
We need to fail, it’s the flip side of success.
At the end of it all, as kiwis like to say…she’ll be right, mate.