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

  • Why Coaching Works

    At the risk of shameless self-promotion, here is a post on why coaching is a powerful way to create authentic and lasting change: Who you hang out with matters. (The right coach is a wonderful person to “hang out” with once a week or so, and will challenge you to upgrade your associations if necessary.) What…

  • Serve. Just Serve.

    Do not inflict your will. Just give love. The soul will take that love and put it where it can best be used. – Emmanuel Just serve. Be of service. Discern your gifts, and talents, and strengths and give them to the World. Be careful to notice what works and what reflects back love, and who…

  • The Worst Phrase Ever

    A little quickie for your Monday morning: The worst phrase, just about ever, is “I can’t do that because… ” I’ve been hearing that a fair bit lately, or I’ve been noticing more lately. Mostly it’s others saying it, but sometimes it’s – in one for or another – in my head. When we say I can’t…

  • We’re All Born Creative

    The enemy of creativity… is fear. We’re all born creative, it takes a little while to become afraid. A surprising insight: an enemy of fear is creativity. Acting in a creative way generates action, and action persuades the fear to lighten up. – Seth Godin But you’ve got to make the first move. You need to be creative. Otherwise…

  • It’s In The Starting Of It

    “Begin – to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.” – Marcus Aurelius As we wrap up this week of “labor” related quotes, let us pause to ponder the importance of starting. So often I learn new things, or new ways of doing things, only by starting…