Fail More, Get Better

When I look at the kids training today… I can tell which ones are going to do well. It’s not necessarily the ones who have the most natural talent or who fall the least. Sometimes it’s the kids who fall the most, and keep pulling themselves up and trying again. – Michelle Kwan

If you never risk, you never fail.

If you never fail you never know the pain of falling down, or getting bumped, battered and brusied.

The beautiful thing about failure is that 99.999% of the time it’s not fatal.*

But it teaches a powerful lesson: that falling down is okay. It’s nothing to be afraid of.

People who never risk are in constant fear of the the unknown, of falling down – of somehow not be “okay.”

It’s interesting: risking/”failing” is a big part of getting better, and not-risking/playing-it-safe is most of staying the same.

*  *  *

* This might actually be low and the real percentage is higher . . . .

Similar Posts

  • We Are Dissonance Resolvers

    “Huh? What the heck is he talking about?” Excellent question. Allow me to explain: Human beings do some interesting things, some great, some good, some not-so-much. One of the things that we do that falls in the not-so-much category is dissonance resolution. First (an attempt at), a definition; Dissonance Resolution: in relation to people, ideas…

  • Why Emotions Matter So Much

    I was just thinking about an exercise I could do with clients where we take a client goal, close our eyes and vividly imagine what it will be like when the goal is achieved. We would stir up positive, constructive, emotions  and actually experience the feelings that would accompany the new reality (that would exist…

  • Monday Practice: Learning from Ric Elias

    This Monday’s Weekly Practice comes last week’s post talking about Ric Elias’ (amazing/life-changing/inspiring/wake-up-from-your-slumber) TED talk. If you’ve haven’t watched the video and read the post, please click here and re-join me below. *** This week I want to to explore the three questions Ric raises. Each day, take some time to write out the answers…

  • Bon Voyage!

    Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip. – Winston Churchill Sure, this quote is dripping with sarcasm and is both clever and funny, but it raises an important point (by way of absurdity . . . ): How tactful are you?…

  • Who “Gets” Coaching

    The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge. – Elbert Hubbard This sentiment really captures who doesn’t get coaching – both literally and figuratively. People who don’t get coaching, figuratively, wonder what the fuss is about. “Coaching? I don’t play a sport, why would I need a coach?…

  • A Virtuous Cycle of Failure

    “The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.” – Rainer Maria Rilke If you’re not “failing” you’re likely not doing anything worthy of your efforts and talents. Consider you have two (at least… ) sacred aspects: your labor and talents. Your labor is your effort, your hard work, your doing…