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Elizabeth Gilbert.
I love her. I devour anything she writes.
Her advise to help us navigate failure and success? You do the same thing for both. WHAT!?
Watch. It’s only 7 mins.
It applies to anyone….about any endeavor.
But now, as a writer, this has a whole new meaning for me.
Xox
Dearest, Darling Failure,
Do you mind if I call you by that name?
I realize it’s much more politically correct to refer to you as re-direction, contrast, un-met goals, course correction,
blah, blah,blah.
I admit, you do possess ALL of those more soul soothing attributes; but let’s be honest here, let’s call a spade, a spade.
You are greatly under-appreciated but let me be clear — No One wants you around!
When shit hits the fan, when careers crash and burn, when marriages end, when we get fired, sued, or otherwise fucked over, when things in our lives fracture and give way under stress, it’s YOUR face we all see at the scene of the crime.
In any case; I’ve come to know you well over the past few years and – well – I’ve fallen for you….
Hard.
I don’t mean to sugar coat things, but you came into my life with the face of my foe; and you have become my friend.
You shook things up for me BIG TIME.
You took my tiny Etch A Sketch of a life, with all of it’s perfectly drawn straight lines, and you hurled it into an F-five tornado.
But I love you for that, ya big lug.
Just uttering your name, failure, can definitely set a negative tone and cause anxiety; please don’t take it personally, we just don’t want you in our lives and when you do show up – we’re afraid you’ll never leave.
But truth be told, you are just as fleeting as success, THAT you’ve taught me.
When you are standing next to me knee-deep in the rubble of my life, you know what I do the next day?
I get up and put one foot in front of the other, each step moving me forward.
You know what I do the days success holds my hand?
I get up, put one foot in front of the other and move forward with my life.
Success has its value don’t get me wrong, but you, failure, your lessons have marked me deeply and profoundly, and I love you for that.
Success never caused me to grow, gave me depth or made me an internally richer person.
But by God, you have failure.
Success made me lazy, afraid to try new things and take chances.
You gave me a glimpse of my true nature. You have delivered to me some of my most agonizing moments, but they have transformed me.
You made me better. Better in business, better in life. A better friend, sister and wife.
Damn it, I love you man.
We all go to extraordinary lengths to avoid you, I know I did, but I realize now that was a mistake.
It’s like trying to avoid aging, which is a similar double-edged sword, and just as futile.
There are as many benefits to be gained from failure as there are from growing old, and BOTH are a privilege.
I truly love you failure
If you had not come into my life when you did, I would not be the person I am today.
Big hug and a sloppy kiss,
We’ve all failed at something, What have you learned from your failure?
Do you agree that it’s made you a better person? All the action happens in the comments below, don’t be shy, your feedback could help someone.
Xox
Damn, this always makes me feel better.
This goes for those of us that had it figured out early, took a right turn and are re-inventing ourselves in our fifties.
Success takes many paths and it is never a straight line.
You’re welcome.
Sending Monday love,
Xox
Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.
~Rumi~
OMG. THAT is my new mantra. What if we all did that?
We’d walk differently in the world. I know I would.
Like a card shark at the Blackjack table. If he knew the game, the deck, was rigged in his favor, he could just sit back, and relax. No more counting cards, no more strategy running though his mind……..no more fear of losing. He’d know, that no matter how it seemed, as the cards were dealt, that the game was rigged in his favor, and he’d bet…….BIG.
There would be an ease, a facility to things. Life would have a lovely flow.
We wouldn’t worry about each day so much, or how shitty things may appear in the moment. “It’ll all figure itself out”. We’d say “you know, it’s rigged in my favor.”
“Well, that’s funny, because life is rigged in my favor too” the person next to us would reply. And that would be okay. Because there’s enough good, enough money, enough love to go around. No one else has to lose when we win.
Using the Blackjack analogy, the player would win big, but the house could cover the bet. It makes money on food and shows and liquor and such.
There’s enough. There’s always enough.
So live life like its rigged in your favor. Bet BIG on your success.
Question: Would that take the fun out of the game (life) if you knew it was rigged for you to win? Interesting huh? Maybe the challenge isn’t so bad. I’d really love to know what you think, tell me!
Xox
