You Need To Experience Failure In Order To Succeed

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I think today’s culture has completely desensitized us to failure. Social media newsfeeds are covered with quotes about hard work, discipline, consistency, timing, patience and promises of better tomorrows. Everyone gets a trophy, and our generation has a serious entitlement problem that causes a, maybe, unrealistic belief that fulfilling our dream is somehow…inevitable if we work hard enough.

Now, I realize how pessimistic that sounds, and despite what I’ve said I am still someone who believes strongly that hard work, discipline, consistency, timing and patience can be an incredible recipe for success. I just think we, as a generation, need to get real and to stop pretending like we know all the answers, just because we’ve seen them posted on someone’s Instagram. Let’s stop validating our mistakes, WITHOUT JUDGEMENT. Maybe allow yourself to experience what its like to ACTUALLY feel like you’re failing, and without attaching any negativity to it. And I don’t mean getting cut from an audition, or not finishing a workout, or getting in a fight with your boyfriend. I mean running out of money, crying everyday for a month, divorcing your spouse, admitting and accepting that you hate your job and doing something about it, getting uncomfortable (THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANTICIPATING THE UNCOMFORTABLE AND ACTUALLY GETTING THERE.) This is an inexplicably impossible thing for us, and yet I am learning it may be the most important to our ultimate happiness.

Perhaps it takes admitting, accepting and swallowing these failures to push you to find what you want, what you need, and what you are actually capable of. Stop telling yourself that you’ll do better tomorrow because your yoga teacher told you that you should accept who and where you are in this moment, or because you think some God has you exactly where you should be. Don’t get me wrong, I practice yoga daily and am someone who marvels at the fact that I even exist, BUT it’s important read other peoples’ wisdom and to listen to other people’s stories of failure and perseverance. To think you have an understanding of what it takes to succeed is only the beginning, a guideline, a starter kit. Your story is your own, and if you’re constantly telling yourself that everything is okay, or that it’s going to be okay because of someone else’s story, you may not make it to where you think you’re going. Stop reading about failure and experience it. Fail. Fail hard. Get scared. Be honest with yourself, and go!