You’re Going to Fail… and that’s OK

The other day, I woke to an email from a fairly high-ranking business professional, touting their new book about not failing when it comes to communication in business. 

While I haven’t read the book yet and can’t comment specifically on its methods and strategies, it did get me thinking about the concept of failing. 

Or rather, not failing. 

We want what’s going to be fun, fast and easy. 

But here’s the rub. 

When it comes to interacting with other people, there isn’t a way not to fail. 

Let me say that again. There is not a way NOT to fail in communicating with others.

Well, I suppose there is one way. You can choose to disengage from people completely. 

But I’d argue that you’re still making a choice that has you failing because you’re depriving your human brain of something it craves so much, connection. 

So let’s start to scrap the idea of not being willing to fail. 
Of running away from failure. 
Of doing everything within our holy power to avoid it at all costs. 

Because here’s the thing. 

The only way to improve, to innovate, to connect, to grow, to learn, experience joy, is through the very thing we want to avoid. 

When we choose to stamp out the possibility of dark, we also make the decision to tamp down the light. We cannot selectively choose one over the other. 

If we decide to go for it. To be all in. We’re going to get our butt kicked from time to time. 

That’s failure. 

Which feels vulnerable and scary and who wants to open themselves up to that?

I do. 

And I have a feeling that you do too. 

Because we know that all the juicy greatness that this life has in store of us is consistently on the other side of opening ourselves up to the possibility of failing. 

And we also open ourselves up to learn. To know better. To do better. 

Will you join me on the other side?

Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash