INTROSPECTION | Failing Forward

A few weekends ago I went on a hike with my bestie. Not usually the way I spend my Saturday mornings, but the opportunity arose and I decided to try out something new. By removing myself from my usual surroundings (which is usually my bed on a Saturday morning) and immersing myself in nature for a few hours, I had the opportunity to breathe in fresh air, clear my mind and chat about all the things which were weighing heavy on my soul. Sure I was exhausted afterwards, but it was a great morning spent strengthening my body and cleansing my mind. One topic we discussed at length was Failure. My friend and I are both driven women, trying to live our best lives while aiming to thrive in our careers and personal love lives, look after ourselves (mentally, spiritually and physically), while seeking out new opportunities, attempting to grow and figuring out how to manoeuvre our way through adulthood. It's alot. I don’t know how you ladies do it out there because on some days I really just want to hide under my sheets for a week when life becomes too overwhelming. It got me thinking about the importance of failure but also realizing that failure isn’t actually the end of a dream. Failure is not an absolute option. It is simply a stumbling block to force you onto another path in order to reach your dream. If you use your failure to help you continuously improve yourself, you can take what you’ve learnt, adjust your strategy and try again. Fail forward. Sometimes we don’t even try to achieve what our hearts truly desire simply because we’re too afraid we won’t succeed. I’m so guilty of this. We need to shift our perspective from focusing on how a failure could negatively affect you, to thinking about how you can make sure you succeed and how amazing it will be when you finally do. Remove the conditions, don’t let doubt and fear influence your decisions and learn to understand that failure isn’t a bad thing. It’s simply a part of the journey you need to take to reach your goals.

We become better because of our mistakes, not in spite of them.