Today’s Truthful Tuesday post is going to be about Failure. I think it’s something we all worry about happening. We want to be the best at everything in life and I think, we’ve lost touch with what happens when that isn’t possible. Sometimes, we don’t try because we are afraid of failing and because of that, we are left wondering What if?!? So how exactly does one label themselves as a failure? Is failing such a bad thing?
Before I started my own blog, I used to sit around and read countless other blogs and I would think to myself “I could totally do that!” I didn’t though. Instead, I kept reading them and thinking the same thing in my head over and over. One day something just clicked and I finally got the courage to at least try. My problem was that I was too afraid of even trying for fear that I might not make it or that it wouldn’t be any good. It’s crazy to me that I’m coming up on almost 2 years of having my blog. In my eyes, it’s exceed what I ever thought to be possible. I remember one time sitting at Sak’s (for an event) and thinking that I was the luckiest girl in the world. It was a full circle moment for me, personally. The fear of failure pushed me to work harder and to try to become the best that I could be. I look back at that girl who was too afraid to try and I think about how different things might have turned out. Did everything work at 100% perfectly at first? No, but I continued to learn and improve.
Failure is real. I think it means something different to each of us. Sometimes it makes us work harder, sometimes it stops us from even starting in the first place. As I’ve gotten older, that fear of failure is still there, but I know that failure isn’t always such a bad thing. It actually might lead to new opportunities. I’m sure we’ve all “failed” at one point in our lives, but guess what? We’re still here and it wasn’t the end of the world. We learn from every mistake that we make and we move on. Nothing that I’ll ever do will happen without a few bumps along the way. I’m a perfect example of someone who let the possibility of failure stop them from trying something I wanted to do for such a long time. Failure is scary, but it’s not the end of the world. I think that when I finally let go of thinking that I was a failure (or going to be one), is when I truly began to shine.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou
Honestly, I fail at things all the time. I’ve really found that it happens a lot when working on a blog project. But usually, those failures are when something doesn’t come out like I envisioned it and then (with a little tweaking) it comes out better than I imagined. But sometimes…I just can’t save whatever I’ve messed up. And that is okay because it means I learned something!
You’re right. Failure is a part of life. And sometimes, it’s not a bad thing. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I think I fail at least once a day, ha! If I’m being truthful. Failure can mean so many different things, but I’ve just learned that life is meant to be something we learn along the way and failures and mistakes will happen! If I’m not failing at anything that means I’m doing nothing!!
I remember how afraid I was to click “publish” on my very first blog post. All kinds of crazy thoughts were running through my head. I look back on that day and laugh because the fears were unfounded. True, we will fail in different areas from time to time, but I always like to fail forward. Great post!
Clicking publish was terrifying!! I think we all remember that day! Fail Forward is a great way of looking at things!
I think my fear of failure has been put in over drive since starting a blog. Usually when I fear that I could fail I just quit. In the short time I’ve been blogging there are a few times I felt like a total failure and would just stop writing. I started to blog as an outlet and was letting my fear stop me. Needless to say I still feel like some of my posts fail, but I keep writing anyway. Thanks for sharing this!
Blogging can be scary. We often find ourselves comparing our blog to others and that starts us down a totally unhealthy road. My posts fail often, especially in the beginning, but I keep trying and keep pushing forward! That’s really all we can do!
I so can relate to that fear of failure when it comes to blogging. Spending so much time comparing my blog to other people’s blogs really made that fear worse. Love how you show how failure can be a positive thing because it can be the motivation you need to get going.
Oh, I’ve been down that road several times. I’ll start looking at other people’s blogs and the next thing I’m doing is looking at my own and critiquing. Which can be positive, but can also be really toxic! For me, it gives me motivation to keep going!
I love “Real” posts like this. The ones were we are open and honest and not pretending everything is all roses. 🙂 I really am a positive person and love my life but there are days that everything falls apart. I wish we could all feel more open to share those moments. I think the world would be a better place for it! My husband struggles with fear stopping him from things. He is slowly getting better. I struggle with fear a little as well but it pushes me to do better. There was a time in my life that I ran from any uncomfortable or hard situation though. I just buried it and didn’t deal with it.
I think that while failure is hurtful its also very important in life so that we can grow and learn so i say bring it!
So true!!!