Nothing will make you more courageous than practicing failure…
Before you do anything well once, you often have to do it really really badly many, many times.
Most people hate doing things badly. Even if you don’t consider yourself a perfectionist, it shakes the ego when we look awkward, don’t know what we’re doing, or make outright fools of ourselves as we navigate the learning process.
But here’s the catch: if we only do what we are good at, we play small in the grand scheme of things, allowing our our lives to be ruled by fear – of what others will think, of feeling uncomfortable, of being wrong. With fear guiding our lives, we fail to grow, fail to challenge ourselves, and fail to become better versions of ourselves.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#flexyourcourage”]So what is the more daunting failure: that of the learning curve or that of stagnating in our own comfort zone?[/tweetthis]
The key is to get really, really comfortable with failure, so that when – not if – it happens, you can shake it off, learn your lesson, and move forward a better, wiser person. The way to get really comfortable with something? Practice.
Here’s the gist: set yourself up for potential failure at least once a week. Low stakes are key to removing the fear from this practice and creating a “safe-to-fail” environment. So attempt to make a souffle. Add a really challenging pose to your yoga routine. Sketch your dog.
Now, of course, you might actually discover a talent for drawing house pets you never knew you had. Great: if you experience this you will reinforce the notion that “you may as well try it, it just might work.” But, if your sketch looks like your three year old did it, let that sit. Ask yourself how it feels to do something really badly. It probably brings up some uncomfortable feelings. Notice that; really feel it. Now ask yourself what you can learn from your failure. This is the key to turning failure into the overall success of learning more about yourself.
As your failure practice progresses, you will inevitably find yourself putting yourself out there more, trying new things, and finding the courage to dare a little more. You will undoubtedly find yourself living bigger and finding possibility everywhere you look.