Big Boy Down

Last week on my morning jog, life taught me a lesson the hard way. It’s the same routine I take every other morning, but it was the familiarity that got me. As I approached an active intersection, full of commuters, it was clearly my moment to shine. With my chin up and gait in rare form, I failed to notice the sheet of mud left over from last night’s sprinkler in the exact location I plant my Nike’s to turn. Like a bad dream in slow-motion, I looked over just in time to notice my feet pass through my line of sight.

Lying on the sidewalk I couldn’t help but laugh at the poetic justice that had just occurred. Oh, how the mighty they fall! As people began rolling down their windows to check on me I realized my ego was bleeding just as bad as my knees. The big boy was down.

After about 30 eternal seconds I made the decision to get up and finish it out. I wiped off the mud from my elbows and knees and started the long road back home. It wasn’t my best time or longest distance but I’m proud to say I finished strong. I fell but I didn’t fail.

There’s a lot of good lessons here, including those that landed me on the ground in the first place, but I’ll save those for another day. The lesson I’ve been learning both mentally and physically is that failing isn’t the worst thing that could happen. The worst thing that could happen is allowing my fear of failure to prevent me from even trying.   

For most of my life I’ve been mortified to fail. I’ve made every attempt to control my environment and minimize risk. It’s exhausting. Risks should be calculated but eliminating the potential for failure is the greatest recipe for stunting growth. How will I know my limits if failure isn’t an option? Not to mention the perpetual “what if’s” once the opportunity has passed by. And besides, failure has yet to be the catastrophic monster I’ve conjured up in my mind. Those times I’ve allowed myself the freedom to fail have been liberating.

Warning! In the event of failure: tweak the process and try it again. Life is full of re-dos. Experimentation is the path to innovation.

I recently read about R.H. Macy and his winding road to success. In a last-ditch effort to save his dry goods store, he paid for a parade to take place and end at his storefront. The parade idea failed on that unusually hot July day and Macy did indeed lose his business. After saving and planning he decided to have another go, this time in New York City. He took what he learned, made some adjustments, and no one is laughing at the parade idea anymore.

So what is the dream you’ve allowed the fear of failure to erode? I’m asking myself the same question. It’s not about confidence but courage. Courage leads to confidence when we fail forward. So, what’s holding us back? Win or lose, we’ll learn a lesson in the schoolroom of life.