Success and Failure

I have much on my mind today.  Do you ever have those days where you ponder life?  Today is one of those days for me.  When I get like this, I am tempted to feel overwhelmed and a bit anxious.  I'm not sure why exactly...I know that I am loved, I'm taken care of, I'm blessed, and I'm OK.  So, why be anxious?  I've never been a fan of the "unknown."  I think maybe that is why I feel unsettled when I think about life and all that life is.  Sometimes I wish I had a magic mirror that would tell me what's going to happen next.  But really, that wouldn't be a good idea.  You know how they say, "Hindsight is 20/20?"  I think hindsight is necessary for growth.  If we always knew what was going to happen, then we wouldn't need to step out in faith and try anything...especially if we knew we were going to fail.  Who would knowingly do something if they knew the result would be total failure?  I know I wouldn't.

Failure is as important as success.  If you never fail, then you won't fully appreciate it when you succeed.  We have to take risks.  We have to try.  If you give up, then you automatically fail.  So, why not take the risk and see if you just might succeed?  If you fail, OK, you fail.  But what if you don't?  Theodore Roosevelt said, "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."  He's right.  Whenever I've had the opportunity to "go for it" and I've backed off and given up, I always feel worse later.  It's like my courage or bravery comes the next day, after it's too late.  Then I'm plagued with thoughts like, "Man, if I would have just done it I might have succeeded!  Why am I such a chicken?"  Thomas Edison said, "I failed my way to success."  Samuel Smiles said, "We learn wisdom from failure much more than success. We often discover what we will do, by finding out what we will not do."  There are some things that I've been wanting to do for a long time, but I've been putting them off.  I realized today that the reason I've been avoiding them is because I don't want to try and then fail. 

My Dad is a man of great wisdom.  When I was a kid, he used to have talks with me about failure.  If I had a situation I was facing where I was afraid to try something, he would ask me, "OK, what is the worst thing that could happen?  What's the worst case scenario if this doesn't work out?  Would you die?  Would it affect you so negatively that you couldn't go on with life?  Etc., etc."  When he put it that way, and I really thought about it, I realized just how silly I was acting.  It wasn't like my fear went away completely, but it gave me the courage to step out and do it.  It almost always ended up working out much better than I thought it would.  Recently, I had an opportunity to do something and I texted my Dad about how nervous I was.  Just like when I was a kid (minus cell phones), he texted back, "What's the worst thing that could happen?"  I texted him back what I thought the worst thing that could happen was and he texted back, "It will be just fine..."  And you know what?  It was.  It was better than fine.  It was a success.

Sometimes all it takes for us to try is a fresh perspective and a little encouragement.  I'm going to move forward with the things that I want to do and if I fail, well then, I fail.  So what?  I'll never know if I can succeed if I don't try.  I am also going to try my best not to be anxious about what the future holds.  After all, Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Now that is encouraging!