It happens in all aspects of life, we fail.
It can be devastating, recovering from failure is tough, and in the social media frenzy we live in now, failure can be embarrassing.
But without failure, do we actually learn from our experiences, do we improve, are we willing to take further risks down the road? I don’t think so.
No matter what your goal, failing sucks, but as I look back in life it’s my failures that made me stronger and more resilient.
I learned most of this from sports throughout my life. I always improved more after losses than I did after a win, and as time passed, I had less losses than wins.
When I took up mountain biking seriously I always wanted to improve and try new things on my bike. I would calculate, plan, and assess risk, then I would go.
If I look at the times everything went perfectly, the memories aren’t as clear, but the times that went wrong made me a betterrider in the end.
When things go sideways and you smash into the ground, while your friends stand by making statements like “Oh s#!t, is he alive?” you slowly get up, try not to cry, and you assess the event pretty seriously. It sticks in your mind and you learn from your mistakes, make some changes, and next time it goes better. The time after that you’re willing to try something bigger. Then the process starts over again and soon the successes far outweigh the failures.
If you’re scared to fail, after that first crash you get up and limp home with your tail between your legs. Next time out you ride around the hard parts and sadly, you just discovered your limits.
So, Is failure embarrassing? Yep. Does it suck? Yep. Does it hurt? For me it usually does. But the alternative is never taking risks, and never reaping the rewards of those risks, whether that’s a success, or just a good lesson.
Don’t forget to step out of the box once in a while, it’ll make you feel more alive … win or lose.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…
