F#@% Failure!

There have been times in my life when I’ve failed BIG TIME! Here’s a sample: Getting total stage fright while presenting (trying anyway) to a room full of high-profile colleagues and executives. Staying in unhealthy relationships way longer than I should’ve. Screwing up submission deadlines for art exhibits, and then having my painting(s) withdrawn from the show. I could go on and on. But you get the point.

Everyone makes mistakes. We are HUMAN! The question is, when you fail, do you crawl into a hole and hide? Or, do you think about WHY you failed and how you can do better next time? I say, F#@% failure! Don’t let it control you. React! Take action. Here’s how….

Forgive yourself. Move on! Forgive and forget. So you failed. So what! We all fail. Take responsibility for it and don’t blame others. Own it.

Understand and learn. Ask yourself, what can I do differently next time? Do some digging. Research new options. Find another way. Sometimes I’ll spend a lot of time on a painting and it looks horrible. But I don’t let that discourage me. I’ll keep painting over it until I figure out what’s not working, and fix it. Give up? Not an option.

Choose to move forward. What did your failure teach you? That knowledge can refuel your motivation. Stop feeling sorry for yourself! Let that negative energy go. Focus on the future, and picture your success instead. I’ll ask myself, “What does getting this right look like to me?” It’s all a choice we have within, like a personal power. Let’s use it!

Kick-start a better you. Guess what? If you never take risks, you’ll never know! So give yourself a high-five for trying. It takes more guts to do something than to do nothing at all. And it’s an amazing feeling to know you picked yourself up, learned from your mistakes and chose to be a better version of your old self. YOU are what you create! So create. Fail. Create. Fail again. Create again. Get the picture? It’s actually an exciting process!

So…What’s the final word here? F#@% failure!

It’s time to wander, wonder and create! Let’s go!