Failing Forward

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So I'm nearing the end of my first month here at WA. And I can honestly say that it has exceeded my expectations so far.

Before joining WA, I had never written a blog, created content for a website, or tried to chase down a long tailed keyword to lasso some KQI for the SEO. (If you don't know what KQI and SEO are, don't worry, you're in the right place. WA's got it covered.)

Technology is in my wheelhouse, so to speak, so I have really enjoyed getting familiar with WordPress and site design.

However, I have found that writing content is definitely in the outer limits of my comfort zone, somewhere between talking about my "feelings" and attending funerals.

It's not like I am a stranger to writing. I've successfully passed technical writing classes, written theses, essays etc...

AND, My brain has been on fire since joining WA. I'm constantly trying to get all my ideas out of my head and down on paper, or a post-it note, or a note app on my phone. So it's not a lack of creativity, or ideas.

Maybe, just maybe, it's because there's more of a personal thread that is weaved in and out of WA, your bio, the content, the websites, whether you're giving a professional review, or revealing a personal passion for something. And more personal + never tried + out of my comfort zone = increased exposure, risk, & vulnerability, which for me means FREEZE!!!....

NOW ENTERING:

Anytime I tried to write, my brain was conflicted and bombarded with,

"What if you fail? Get rejected? What if your content sucks? I mean have you read some of the blogs, and content around here, Rcaf4??? What kind of username is that anyway? You're outta yo league, or any league for that matter. Stop NOW and save yourself, before its published and your friends and family are laughing at you on Facebook!!!!"

On one of these such dreadful occasions, as I tried to write, again, nothing, nada, FROZEN, deadlocked, write a sentence, delete it, write 3 sentences, delete 4, (wait 1-1+3-4, okay looks good, whew, that could have been embarrassing).

So, with almost 2 hours down and nothing to show for it, I was growing more and more FRUSTRATED & DEFEATED, when in comes my beautiful 5 year old with her brand new pink, sparkly wireless MP3 microphone, belting out...

" Let it goooooo, Let it goooooo, can't hold it back anymore
Let it goooooo, Let it goooooo
Turn away and slam the door,
I don't care
what they're going to say,
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway..."

WOW! At that moment, I knew I had a choice to make. And I made it.

You see, if you never quit, give up, or throw in the towel, then failure is only a temporary setback .

Anyone who has achieved any success will tell you it was not without a few failures along the way. They would also probably tell you that without those failures, they would not have achieved the level of success they desired. One of the greatest basketball players of all time once said,

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed over, and over, and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed"

Michael Jordan

Success does not happen in a vacuum. It is a byproduct of, you guessed it, overcoming Failure/s. They go hand in hand like salty-sweet, yin-yang, and one cannot exist without the other. I like to think of it this way,

"I know what I like, because I know what I don't like. If I never tried anything out of fear that I would not like it, then I would like nothing, and never know anything"

So, Why be fearful of something(Failure), when it is complimentary, and unavoidable on the path to true success? Instead, we can choose to allow our failure/s to test and teach us HOW to succeed, introduce us to our strengths, weaknesses, what works & what doesn't.

With each failure, we are one step closer to success, as long as we don't give up.

Just as Courage is not measured by the absence of fear, Success is not measured by the absence of failure.

So, do I still have fears of failing? Sure, but now I'm choosing to feel it, and Fail Forward anyway.

And, Will I have failure/s on my journey to success? I'm counting on it!

How about you?

Fear of Failing holding you back? What are you doing to overcome it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts...