I subscribe to The Magnolia Journal, the magazine of "Inspiration for life and home" put together by Joanna and Chip Gaines of HGTV fame. Truthfully, I often find inspiration in its pages. So their motto holds true for me.
In the latest issue on "curiosity," the editors included what they call the "Magnolia Manifesto" on what they believe. The manifesto contained several items that I want to pass along because I think they're worth some reflection:
"We believe:
—that friends who feel like family are the best kind of friends and that nothing matters more than family.
—that today is a gift and that every day miracles are scattered about if only we have eyes to see them.
—that failure needn't be a negative thing; rather, we learn from our mistakes and fail smarter next time.
—in doing work that we love and, in choosing that, nudging others toward doing what they love.
...and of all heroic pursuits large or small, we believe there may be none greater than a life well loved."
So what do you think? Do those resonate with you, too? There were more, but these were some of my favorites. One could journal several pages on each of those items. Give them some thought and see whether they inspire you today. May your day be bright and filled with beauty!
Showing posts with label failure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label failure. Show all posts
Friday, June 1, 2018
Monday, April 2, 2018
Failures are our teachers
I have often said that I've learned far more from my mistakes and failures than ever I've learned from any achievements or successes in life. It's not a fun way to learn—but somehow it seems more effective. Do you find that true in your life, too?
That is why it's good to ask yourself—either when you're in the midst of a situation that is going south and is about to fail or later when you pick up the pieces—what can I learn from this? What is this experience trying to teach me? So many lessons can be embedded within our failures. So don't be discouraged by your mistakes and failures.
As our last president, Barack Obama, once said, "The real test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."
Yup, it's called lifelong learning. The school of hard knocks. Whatever you want to call it, there's just always more to learn. Let's open ourselves up to those lessons.
That is why it's good to ask yourself—either when you're in the midst of a situation that is going south and is about to fail or later when you pick up the pieces—what can I learn from this? What is this experience trying to teach me? So many lessons can be embedded within our failures. So don't be discouraged by your mistakes and failures.
As our last president, Barack Obama, once said, "The real test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."
Yup, it's called lifelong learning. The school of hard knocks. Whatever you want to call it, there's just always more to learn. Let's open ourselves up to those lessons.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Get comfortable with fear & failure
There are two f-words that most of us do not like at all. Fear. And failure. Right? Typically, we aren't comfortable with them.
We probably think that if we acknowledge or think about our fears, they'll grow larger. The fact is that we need to actually be aware of the individual fears that most rule our lives so that they don't rule. We need to say "Hello" to them, as it were—actually acknowledge that we are afraid of whatever it is, whether that be public speaking, broken relationships, job loss or debilitating illness. And we need to examine what the fear is all about. What's really going on? How realistic is it that we let that fear loom so large for us? Can we either let that fear go or at least shrink it down to manageable size? Then we can take incremental steps to deal with that specific fear.
And failure. It might be well to think long and hard about what constitutes failure anyway. If we learn from things that haven't worked in our lives, is that really failure? If a project experienced a few glitches but came out right in the end, is that failure? Often, it's really a matter of unrealistically high expectations.
And, honestly, it's good for us to get comfortable with both fears and failure. We can learn so much from them both. I would say I've learned far more from what I saw as failures than ever I've learned from what I consider my successes. You, too?
We probably think that if we acknowledge or think about our fears, they'll grow larger. The fact is that we need to actually be aware of the individual fears that most rule our lives so that they don't rule. We need to say "Hello" to them, as it were—actually acknowledge that we are afraid of whatever it is, whether that be public speaking, broken relationships, job loss or debilitating illness. And we need to examine what the fear is all about. What's really going on? How realistic is it that we let that fear loom so large for us? Can we either let that fear go or at least shrink it down to manageable size? Then we can take incremental steps to deal with that specific fear.
And failure. It might be well to think long and hard about what constitutes failure anyway. If we learn from things that haven't worked in our lives, is that really failure? If a project experienced a few glitches but came out right in the end, is that failure? Often, it's really a matter of unrealistically high expectations.
And, honestly, it's good for us to get comfortable with both fears and failure. We can learn so much from them both. I would say I've learned far more from what I saw as failures than ever I've learned from what I consider my successes. You, too?
Friday, December 4, 2015
Focus on hope
One of my favorite authors and workshop presenters, Paula D'Arcy, recently wrote about a visit she'd made to a local county jail where she was invited to give an inspirational talk. Before her talk, an inmate asked whether he could share his story.
The man's story was extremely moving, D'Arcy said, and he ended with a song that in her words "cut a path through the mind's usual chatter." All the inmates were on the edge of their seats, clapping and shouting encouragement to the man who shared his story. By the time D'Arcy gave her talk, everyone in the room was open and ready for a dose of hope.
The line that drew the longest applause that morning, D'Arcy said, was this: "Your pain and failures do not define you. What defines you is the spirit moving in life."
Such a message surely brought hope to those inmates. But it also can bring hope to you and to me. Our lives, too, have contained pain. Perhaps they still do. We've likely had our share of failures, too. So it's good to remember that those things do not define us.
To hear that message and remember the truth of it, however, we often need to shut out all the noise of the world around us—noises that play on our fears, on our greed, on our desire to buy more and more, and on our negative side. Tune that out. Remember you're defined by something much larger. And let hope fill your heart today.
The man's story was extremely moving, D'Arcy said, and he ended with a song that in her words "cut a path through the mind's usual chatter." All the inmates were on the edge of their seats, clapping and shouting encouragement to the man who shared his story. By the time D'Arcy gave her talk, everyone in the room was open and ready for a dose of hope.
The line that drew the longest applause that morning, D'Arcy said, was this: "Your pain and failures do not define you. What defines you is the spirit moving in life."
Such a message surely brought hope to those inmates. But it also can bring hope to you and to me. Our lives, too, have contained pain. Perhaps they still do. We've likely had our share of failures, too. So it's good to remember that those things do not define us.
To hear that message and remember the truth of it, however, we often need to shut out all the noise of the world around us—noises that play on our fears, on our greed, on our desire to buy more and more, and on our negative side. Tune that out. Remember you're defined by something much larger. And let hope fill your heart today.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Dream big; embrace failure
American dogsled driver and explorer Norman Vaughn once said, "The only death you die is the one you die daily by not living. Dream big and dare to fail."
Read that again. Those words have huge impact. Are you dreaming big? Are you open to failure, seeing it as an opportunity to learn? Have you dreamed big? Have you experienced failure? What did you learn from it? What difference did that make in your life? What dreams do you have now?
It's so easy to "live small." To shut down our big dreams. To believe we really couldn't do what it is we'd dreamt of doing. To think we're not enough. To not believe in ourselves.
Yet how many times have we read or heard of people who overcame fears and doubts, perhaps even failing several times, before succeeding in their plan? We have only to think of Thomas Edison, who tried and failed many, many times before his light bulb success. I have read that he and his team tested more than 3,000 designs before succeeding. He didn't see each of those attempts as failure but as learning ways that didn't work on his way to finding what would work.
Even without such big dreams as that, it's important to not be among the "walking dead"—those who are alive but mostly sleepwalk through life, not being aware of all the possibilities and blessings all around. Wake up. Dream big. Embrace failure.
Read that again. Those words have huge impact. Are you dreaming big? Are you open to failure, seeing it as an opportunity to learn? Have you dreamed big? Have you experienced failure? What did you learn from it? What difference did that make in your life? What dreams do you have now?
It's so easy to "live small." To shut down our big dreams. To believe we really couldn't do what it is we'd dreamt of doing. To think we're not enough. To not believe in ourselves.
Yet how many times have we read or heard of people who overcame fears and doubts, perhaps even failing several times, before succeeding in their plan? We have only to think of Thomas Edison, who tried and failed many, many times before his light bulb success. I have read that he and his team tested more than 3,000 designs before succeeding. He didn't see each of those attempts as failure but as learning ways that didn't work on his way to finding what would work.
Even without such big dreams as that, it's important to not be among the "walking dead"—those who are alive but mostly sleepwalk through life, not being aware of all the possibilities and blessings all around. Wake up. Dream big. Embrace failure.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Failure's lessons
For years I have liked the prose/poem titled "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. It's about being real, and it's just rich with images and meaning. Read the entire poem sometime, and see whether it doesn't give you much upon which to reflect.
Part of the poem addresses failure, something with which each one of us is familiar. Here's what she writes, "I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes!'"
I don't know about you, but I've learned far more from my failures than ever I've learned from my achievements and successes. It's not easy to face failure nor to accept that one has failed. But it definitely puts it in perspective when you can ask what lessons your failure might have for you. What can you learn from the experience?
And can we be gracious and forgiving of the failures of others? It helps if we can offer ourselves that gift—then we'll be more likely to be accepting of the failures of others.
And if we can do that, perhaps we truly can "stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes!'"
Part of the poem addresses failure, something with which each one of us is familiar. Here's what she writes, "I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes!'"
I don't know about you, but I've learned far more from my failures than ever I've learned from my achievements and successes. It's not easy to face failure nor to accept that one has failed. But it definitely puts it in perspective when you can ask what lessons your failure might have for you. What can you learn from the experience?
And can we be gracious and forgiving of the failures of others? It helps if we can offer ourselves that gift—then we'll be more likely to be accepting of the failures of others.
And if we can do that, perhaps we truly can "stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes!'"
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Failure viewed differently
Were you taught that failure is a bad thing? I was, too. I'm not even sure by whom—but I know I learned to view it as a negative.
The dictionary says failure is "the condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends."
But isn't that how we learn? We try something. It doesn't pan out quite as we'd planned. We try it again, but this time with some changes or tweaks. Perhaps it doesn't work this time either. We continue trying with small changes. Then, voila, it works.
So, really, is "failure" a bad thing? I think it just might get a bad rap that it doesn't deserve. Perhaps we shouldn't even call it failure. It's more of an experiment, whether it's our life or it's some object we're creating.
It was Thomas Edison who said as he worked on developing the light bulb, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." He also said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up" and "Negative results are just what I want. They're just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don't."
Hmmm, that puts a different perspective on failure, success, giving up, and trying again and again, doesn't it? Really, haven't you learned more from those failed attempts than you ever have from any successes? So let's celebrate curiosity and perseverance. Let's try, try, try again—and see how much we can learn in the process!
The dictionary says failure is "the condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends."
But isn't that how we learn? We try something. It doesn't pan out quite as we'd planned. We try it again, but this time with some changes or tweaks. Perhaps it doesn't work this time either. We continue trying with small changes. Then, voila, it works.
So, really, is "failure" a bad thing? I think it just might get a bad rap that it doesn't deserve. Perhaps we shouldn't even call it failure. It's more of an experiment, whether it's our life or it's some object we're creating.
It was Thomas Edison who said as he worked on developing the light bulb, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." He also said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up" and "Negative results are just what I want. They're just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don't."
Hmmm, that puts a different perspective on failure, success, giving up, and trying again and again, doesn't it? Really, haven't you learned more from those failed attempts than you ever have from any successes? So let's celebrate curiosity and perseverance. Let's try, try, try again—and see how much we can learn in the process!
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