The Dreaded F-Word We All Try to Avoid: Failure
Making Friends with It
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.” — J.K. Rowling
The mere thought of failing sends shivers down our spines and sounds alarms in our brains. Failure is a common occurrence, just like breathing—even the best stumble on the path to success.
Think about how Michael Jordan missed more than 9,000 shots throughout his career. Also, they fired Oprah Winfrey from her first TV reporting job.
Instead of staying in their comfort zone, successful people take risks to achieve greatness.
So why does failure strike fear into our hearts? Why do we hide our missteps and pretend they didn’t happen?
As a society, we’ve developed an irrational phobia of failure and an obsession with winning. But the truth is failure is a vital part of the l…
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