Thursday, January 14, 2010
Don't Quit before you Fail
I read a post over at Seriously Amber Lynae today that really inspired me. She asked the question: Would you rather quit or fail? And my truthful answer has always been: Quit. The thought of failing at something scares me. In fact, if I see myself on a path towards failure, I bail out before I can be crushed or hurt. But as I read her post, I realized that my answer was my pride talking. If I quit, I've given up before I had a chance to fail (or to succeed). To fail, means that when I didn't succeed I was trying my hardest. By the time I finished reading her post, I realized that there is no shame in failing at something. Because failing doesn't mean you have to give up. Failing can mean you just have to find a new way to do something. Or you just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again. Thanks, Amber, for the pep talk today and I hope that I can keep moving forward and never give up on a dream because I'm afraid of failure.
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I have a high opinion of Amber Lynae and I, too, was touched by her post. It's okay to fail but I don't ever want to give up. Hang in there. You'll make it.
ReplyDeleteKasie-- your post just brought tears to my eyes. I know that is a silly reaction. But I love that you got what I was saying. Thank you Kasie and Laura.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so much afraid to fail anymore. Rejection has become part of the routine. But I think I'm a little bit afraid to succeed. Because then things would change, and I don't know what would happen next.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Kasie! And yeah, I'm with Amber--Failing isn't FAILING, it's just falling, which is way different. We all have to fall a whole bunch until we can climb out. I think ture failure would be never trying it in the first place, you've just set yourself up for failure...
ReplyDeleteand I totally hear you Rebecca! Whenever anyone teasingly remarks that I could be as famous as Stephenie Meyer, I start stressing... I really don't want to succeed that much.
The more I learn about the publishing business the more I realize it's all about those that perservere. In high school I took honors english, by the middle of the school year I was getting a C and my teacher was going to drop me so my GPA wouldn't suffer. I beg, pleaded, and cried for him to let me stay. "I would rather learn more in your class and get a C than be bored to tears and get an A." I said. When he signed my yearbook that year, he called me the epitomy of perserverence. I have copied that quote out of my yearbook and often place it where I can see it. I have to remind myself that I can perservere even though I often want to quit. I hate to lose so sometimes it's easier to not try in the first place. Thanks for sharing this thought today. I really needed it.
ReplyDeleteI can understand failing. It is so hard and wearing and even makes me feel small and worthless! BUT! But these are the times when prayer helps me through. If we just realize the love Heavenly Father has for us and remember the big picture--the real purpose of life--how can we go wrong, even when we have failed thousands of times?
ReplyDeleteWe will never regret a best effort.