Be less afraid of failure

“We’re all going to lose in life. You’re going to lose your wife, your mother, your father. We all have losses in life, and the ones who can really overcome those losses and just keep living…can come back and be successful. You can’t go die because you lost. I did my best and I trained. I was in shape and I lost.”

- Muhammad Ali

As people, we’re very afraid of failure. In school, the worst grade you can get is an F. Failure. We have a word to describe those who fail. Loser.

Looking back, I’ve done an awful lot of failing. I was a terrible runner my first year of high school, but after nine years, and two marathons later, I finally felt that I had running all figured out. The first time I had an interview, I bombed, totally. But all it takes is practice. I don’t think there’s anyone who’s great at something from the start without prior experience or at least something that’s remotely similar.

The truth is, failure allows us to learn and to succeed. What’s going to inspire us more, initial success or initial defeat? Defeat, however bitter it may taste, allows us to come back, to right the wrong, to make the impossible possible again. So let’s not be afraid of failing, it just might set us on the path to success.