Warning! Lack of Failure!

February 19, 2021– Lack of failure is a troubling warning sign. Umm, what? Lack of failure means that you’ve taken no risks  and that you’ve tried nothing new. Babies fall down a lot when they’re learning how to walk, but not once do they say, “Wow, maybe this just isn’t for me!”  Humans are the only species on earth that don’t try to grow to their full potential. A tree will always grow as big as it can, it never decides that 6’2 is as big as it will grow and then it will stop.

Some of us don’t reach our full writing potential because we are afraid of failing and other’s don’t bother to try. A lack of failure in your writing life means that you aren’t taking risks and putting yourself out there to grow as an author. The only way we grow? You guessed it, by failing and learning from those failures. Imagine that you were perfect at absolutely everything you tried? How boring would that be? There would be no point to living, because part of the fun, is overcoming challenges and obstacles, and tracking our improvements.

Let’s do an exercise to see if there are warning signs in your life due to lack of failures. Please list the following:

1. Have you accomplished everything you’ve wanted to do in your writing career?
2. Have you reached all of the goals you’ve set for yourself?
3. Have you ever failed at anything in your writing life?
4. Have you experienced rejection?

If you’ve accomplished everything, reached all of your goals, never failed at anything, and haven’t experience rejection…Congratulations! You’ve lived a very safe and comfortable life well inside your comfort zone. Let’s be honest, that’s not something to celebrate. Ask yourself, am I stifling my true potential as an author because I’m afraid to try something new, take a class, meet new peers, or get out of my comfort zone? Do yourself a favour and fail as much as you can! I’d much rather live a life of, at least I tried, rather than what if, and I hope you would too. Fail forward and you’ll never lose, you’ll learn!