Friday, April 7, 2017

Fail your way to success!

April A to Z Blogging Challenge, hosted here.

My theme this year is exploring the link between mental health and creativity. See my stance on this here.


 F is for Failure    

When you are working on improving any area of your life, you risk failure. In fact, most self-help gurus, psychologists, and mental health professionals will tell you that you can't grow WITHOUT it. It is our challenges that help us grow. One of my favorite sayings, attributed tot he buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh "No mud, no lotus."

If you work on accepting failure as a part of growth, of "forward failing," as Tony Robins would say, you become better able to navigate the ups and downs of life while still steadily moving forward .

How does working on this trait in yourself help your writing or creative endeavor? Well, it's obvious--when pursuing any dream, you are going to fail. A lot. All you have to do is perform an internet search for writers who faced a ton of rejection and you will get countless stories of famous people who were told their work was crap, unpublishable, worthless only to later go on to make millions of dollars off said crappy work.

Writing is a constant battle between the certainty that you have created something amazing and the pain of every rejection or negative review. Go ahead and fail. Who cares? Lots of very successful people fail at things every day. But they KEEP TRYING. Keep moving, no matter what your goal and you are bound to get there. Give up and you never will.

Go forth and Forward Fail your way to victory, my friends!

3 comments:

  1. Absolutely! Key is to keep trying & never give up.
    Forward failing is cool!
    Failing our way to success is a win-win situation.
    ----
    Thanks for visiting my blog :)
    'Fear Of Failure' #AtoZChallenge

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  2. Failing forward is always my preferred way to fail! Well written, and a great insight to show that failing can be a growing experience vs a negative one.
    Tupeak Hope
    #AtoZChallenge Participant blogging about chronic health issues, patient self-advocacy and empowerment

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  3. Great truths! I love "Go forth and and fail..." I wish there were an easier way to success, but I fear there is not.

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