What happens to us when we mess up something? A bunch of things depending upon how big the screw-up was, the people involved, and how much grief or consequence we face. Generally, we feel bad, embarrassed, and sad.
Did you ever roast a turkey so badly that it no longer resembled anything that once was poultry? These people don’t seem too concerned about it. A shrug of the shoulder and a thumbs-up for the fail!
And that’s the whole point of this blog. It’s all about using your self-worth to gain a new and better perspective when things go south.
Do you follow baseball? If so, you know about baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn who played for the San Diego Padres. He finished his career with a .338 batting average. One of the best hitters who ever played the game, Gwynn made hitting an art.
But what does a .338 average really mean?
Gwynn produced a hit a little more than 1/3 of the time. Therefore, 66.2% of the time he was unsuccessful.
So, when you really think about it, if you fail 70% to get a hit in baseball, you are a dangerous hitter and possibly worthy of a place in the Hall of Fame.
A couple of years ago, the British medical journal The Lancet (Vol 394, 11/30/2019) reported on a conference in London at the University College, The Festival of Failure. The goal of this meeting was to warmly embrace failure and even celebrate it so that we can learn from our mistakes.
Let’s face it. Failure can be very painful and can provide us with a one-way ticket to Awful-Land where we encounter Guilt, Negativity, and Shame. Nobody likes feeling crushed nor humiliated.
Consider this. If we realize our worthiness, our mistakes can be looked upon differently. Since life is a whole bunch of trial and error, it calls for us to be patient, self-encouraging, and accepting of our efforts. After many years of making mistakes both big and small and being my worst critic, wisdom tells me “So what-now what?”
Before you burn a turkey, baste it more, watch it more and cook it less.
These are some of the things I’ve learned about failure in my life that I’d like to share with you. If you failed at something, at the very least you took initiative and did something worth. (BTW, I am a notoriously poor test taker). One needs to look at success and failure through the same lens. If you succeed and win or fail and lose, do it with grace and dignity. Things can and will change if you keep trying. Learn to keep your legs moving and persevere.
Finally, that brings me to Fail Fest.
What if we had a National Festival of Failure Day? We could all sit around and laugh about how poorly we did over a few beers. We could play Cornhole and not even come close to hitting the hole. Let’s burn some burgers! YAY!!
I make excellent guacamole and can bring it to our party.
You can bring the chips.
Oh, that’s right. You forgot them.
It’s OK. I got you covered with some of my own!