It's Okay to Fail

This may not be groundbreaking news to you. In fact, you may be one of those warriors who has jumped for something, failed and raced after the next challenge life threw at you.

Well, I am NOT one of those folks. For whatever reason, I have done everything in my capacity to avoid failure in life (on a major scale). Sure, I make small mistakes all the time.

But lately, I've been embracing the idea of failure. Because I've avoided it for so long, it's likely I haven't learned as much from experiences than my "try anything" friends.

Honestly, failure scares the shit out of me. And it's that fear that I run from. But ultimately, I want to look back on my life thinking, "That was amazing. I couldn't have done it better." rather than "Well, at least I was safe."

Don't get me wrong, playing it safe can be good too. Playing it safe keeps you healthy, in good relationships and out of scary situations. But I think there might be a point you reach of living in the 'safe zone' where you start to see diminishing returns.

Anyway, that's my deep thought of the week. Now on to some fun stuff...

Dinner Tuesday night had to be quick, but filling - pretty much a standard in this household. I got home from lap swimming and a trip to Tar-get around 7:45 and the manfriend was racing until 8 pm or so.

I chose black bean and veggie tostadas inspired by the latest Real Simple.



Ingredients: corn tortillas, black beans homemade refried w/ garlic, grilled zucchini, bell pepper, onion and mushroom with shredded mozzarella on top. Put in the oven on broil for 5-8 min. Side: cottage cheese and cantaloupe

We doused ours in tobasco and salsa to give it a punch. These are easy, cheap and delicious - triple win!

It's official, I've jumped feet first back into training mode and that includes yesterday's 45 min trail run at lunch (hilly trails are about a 9 min run from my office) AND this morning's wet 7 miler.



We're clearly still having that bipolar weather I mentioned before, but for some reason, I don't mind it. The rain sprinkled in among days of sun isn't so bad. I had almost forgotten what it was like to run with your shirt and shorts sticking to you the entire time...

Tell me... about a time you (or someone you know) failed and came out ahead because of it. 

Extra credit reading
If you want to get a laugh, you should read Ali's blog. Every time I do, I find myself a) laughing and b) thinking that if I weren't so damn serious, I'd want Ali's humor. Plus, she's a runner and what's not awesome about that?

Comments

I failed at a job that I worked incredibly hard to get when I finished grad school. I thought it was going to be the perfect fit for me. Turns out it wasn't a good fit - at all. So I left the job pretty suddenly and had to take a huge step back in my career. But it gave me an opportunity to think about what I am good at and what I enjoy. If I hadn't gone through that experience, I wouldn't have found my current career. Actually, my current boss tried to hire me when I was leaving the company for that supposed dream job... And now years later, I'm working for him (well, for now, until the reog goes into effect). Kind of weird how things work out!

Those toastadas look delicious! I have not been cooking much this week - this post is a reminder that you can make fast, easy, healthy meals!
Tasha Malcolm said…
I can't think of a recent failure, but I am sure that I have more then one and it will come to me later today. We have had bipolar weather too. The last couple of days have been really nasty with thunder storms. Those freak my poor pups out!
I am excited that you are back in training mode! What is your next race?
missris said…
I am also petrified of failure, which makes it hard for me to take big chances. I did recently move across the country for a boy though so hopefully that wasn't a failure (although some days it feels like it...)
Not only does it take a while to *realize* that this feeling is exactly what holds you back, but it also takes a long time, and a lot of courage, to admit it.

If I had been afraid of failure, I would never have had time in CO, or worked for Small Planet Foods (marketing? No experience! But, now I have some... :) ), or taken on a job in an entirely new field of Nutrition that I'm now totally in love with.

Everyone can relate to this, but the difference in our stories is how we *react* to it. A quote I heard recently really speaks to this - "Our creator* would not give us the longing to do that which we are not capable of doing." - (*beliefs aside, this is powerful either way) - just to say that the things we WANT are in our minds for a reason. We shouldn't be afraid to go after them. :)
Amber said…
I haven't really had a huge failure in my life yet that I can think of, a recent "jump" I had to take that turned out a success but could have gone the other way was taking my new job. I was in a really great work environment before and I know my new job's work environment wasn't guaranteed to be as wonderful but luckily for me it HAS been!
J said…
That dinner looks amazing! I so want to make those next week. I know right now I am feeling very safe in my job as in I am not taking any chances. But I know I should and I know that is how I grow. Sometimes I do feel like I fail at work because I don't always come up with the answers to problems but I know that each time I fail, I learn more.
Fear of failure sucks. It's crippling. I definitely have it sometimes! But often I sign up or apply (or whatever it is) for something I am not ready for, just because otherwise, the fear will always hold me back. And usually once I do whatever it is I am scared of, it wasn't as bad as I feared. AND...even if I "fail", that is not as bad as I feared either. It's all in our own head!

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