It seems that the entire world is intent on failing! Not only does everyone seem to want to fail but want to fail better, faster and more often!
This is craziness!
Sure, I get it! I understand that when we experience a setback (failure) that we learn from this and hopefully get better and stronger. I know that when we learned to walk we had to first fall dozen and hundreds of times – I get it!
This is wrong thinking!
Words are things and thinking about something makes it so! When we think about failure we set up an expectation of failure in our mind and are attracted to the people, places and circumstances that will encourage our failure!
This is the law of attraction!
Words, every word, have meaning and failure has a meaning. The meaning of failure is not positive and we all know that!
Failure is a noun
1. An act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success: His effort ended in failure. The campaign was a failure.
2. Nonperformance of something due, required, or expected: a failure to do what one has promised; a failure to appear.
3. A subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency: the failure of crops.
4. Deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength, etc.: The failure of her health made retirement necessary.
5. A condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.
I have tried this ‘embrace failure’ thing and the result has been more thinking about failure. Thinking about poverty does not bring riches into your life. Thinking about excess weight does not bring health. Thinking about the fear of public speaking does not bring confidence. Thinking the opposite of what you want does nothing to get the thing you want – this is a fact!
Forget failure!
When I am playing tennis with a better player I don’t accept that every failure is a lesson, rather I know that the process of learning will make me stronger.
Learning is not failure!
Learning is also a noun and learning is what we do as we strive to become better at some skill or endeavor.
1. Knowledge acquired by systematic study in any field of scholarly application.
2. The act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.
3.Psychology. the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience.
I do not embrace failure.
In fact, in my life failure does not exist. I am a learner and am always learning. The success I achieve depends on my natural skill level, and the resources and energy that I put into the learning of any skill or undertaking. If I put enough energy and resources into the learning any goal success is assured!
The great Ashtangi Yogi, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, wrote, ‘Practice, practice all is coming.’ In yoga there is only practice, no failure, and with enough practice all is coming!
By embracing failure you are digging a psychological bear pit into which you must fall. Forget this word and forget this concept. Banish it from your mind and replace it with ‘learning’.
I never fail I simply get better faster at whatever I put energy into.