“I wanna see you be brave!”
Every day, I get a little bit closer to my ideal life. I wake each day and take a step in the direction of my dreams.
Some days, I stumble. Other days, I outright fall. But EVERY DAY, I take a step, and it gets me closer.
When I pursue something that resonates deeply in my heart and soul, the setbacks somehow don’t feel like failure. I know what failure feels like. True failure is a nauseating emptiness you feel when you spend all your time pursuing something inauthentic, something sold to you by either well-meaning or insincere people–a dream perhaps that belongs to someone else–and it gets you nowhere.
It’s scary as all hell to pursue what I love–my vision of what my life should include:
- Time for fulfilling work that brings out the best in me
- Time for ample play and creative endeavors
- Time for fueling close relationships with family and friends
To achieve this vision, to move in the direction of my dreams, I have to return to its original owner whatever it is I’ve been sold in the past–those inauthentic things that no longer resonate within me. I may not achieve exactly what it is I dream of in the time frame I wish, but when I pursue what I love, even if it teases and eludes me, I cannot stop. My desire to achieve my dreams outruns my fear of failure.
Yes, it’s scary to let go of what I’ve been doing so I can pursue what I love–writing, editing, playing music, spending quality time with my partner, making enough time for family and friends–but if I’m to fail at anything in life, I’d much rather fail at pursuing something I love, if not all the things I love.
(Artwork credit: “Tightrope Over Niagara” painted by Walter Martin Baumhofer)
How about you? What is it that you wish you could or would pursue, if you’d only give up your fear of failure? Will you take a step today in the direction of your dreams?
Swimming in the Mud 
You are saying what is on my heart and mind these days. I am working hard to fix what is in my heart, to walk my own path. Each time I itch to say yes, because someone else needs me too, I am steadily asking myself whose answer is it, mine or theirs. Please, keep these coming it helps to remind me.
I completely understand, Val, and have caught myself mid-stream as you have. It takes practice but these are definitely steps in the right direction. If you promise to keep moving forward, I’ll commit to sharing similarly encouraging thoughts to help us all along.
Continue to pursue your dreams as time rolls on, some of them will come true.
It seems so simple, because it is. BELIEVE!
I wonder if we shouldn’t consider every move we make a step forward. With that mindset, we can never fail, for along the way, we’ve learned something. The key is that we continue to try and in our perceived failures, we may have inspired others to take a chance also. Because we always get up and isn’t that the most important thing. I most certainly believe in you, Sue. 😉
Thank you so much!!! I believe in you, too!! 🙂
Your comment brings to mind a quote from one of the all-time masters of truth and brevity:
“There is no fail–only try.” –Yoda
🙂
Great post. “My desire to achieve my dreams outruns my fear of failure.”
Jim Carrey gave a talk to graduates recently which basically said ‘if you are going to fail, at least fail at something you love’.
I would probably term it differently in that I believe that we are not here to collect successes or trophies or awards or even to avoid failure but rather to be who we really are and to experience who we really are.
If that (for you) means those things you have listed and that means ‘failure’ by other people’s criteria (such as financial success or whatever) then it does not matter.
I think you hit it on the head when you said “I have to return to its original owner” which is yourself and no-one else as judge of whether you have succeeded or not.
As for failure? remember the Japanese proverb “Fall down seven times, stand up eight”
Good observation/clarification: ” . . . which is yourself and no one else as judge of whether you have succeeded or not.”
I also like your Japanese proverb (I hadn’t heard it before!). But, as I said in one of my comments below, I’m kinda leaning today towards Jedi master Yoda’s simple wisdom, “There is no fail–only try.” 🙂
Good point. Try and try again.
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Thanks for the ping back on “Fail at Something You Love”
Keep at it. You’re doing fine!
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