AFFIRM THIS,

I am courageous!
I alleviate my unrealistic expectation to be perfect.
I have justified procrastination by labeling it perfectionism.
And, I have justified my fear of failing by calling it perfectionism.
I release my attachment to both procrastination and perfectionism to meet the highest version of me.
I am willing to be uncomfortable to grow.
I am willing to fail to learn.

 Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill.

. . .

There was a time, very recently, that I would read a quote like the one above and roll my eyes. It irritated me when people tried to make failure sound desirable. Because

WHO WANTS TO FAIL?

Yet, as I reflect on my goals from just one year ago, I realize the ones I did not accomplish were not because I was incapable. Instead, those things did not happen because I chose comfort over the risk of failing.

I was afraid that it would flop if I did something against my comfort. So, I chose to remain nestled inside of my cocoon of safety, a place where I could do what I wanted to do. There, I could rely on doing what I was confident would work.

Why Be Willing To Fail?

Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing –

– Denis Waitley.

If it were true that fulfillment comes from riskless living, I would have been much more pleased with my accomplishments last year. Don’t get me wrong; I am thankful for every opportunity I had last year. And, I am not paralyzed by what did not happen.

Instead, I recognize this one adjustment that is necessary for me. I can no longer cleave to comfort and expect to meet the highest version of myself. And, my obsession with comfort is rooted in an unhealthy need to be fail-less, which is impossible if I genuinely want to live the life God destined for me.

Failing is Learning

“Failure is a means, an essential ingredient, to successful living. The value of failure is in the learning and growth that it provides” – Charles C. Manz.

Like many of you reading this, I have endless ideas that come to me. Ideas that I know would benefit me and would also bless others. Yet, so many of these ideas don’t get past me. I often talk myself out of moving forward because I don’t want to fail. See, I have conditioned myself to believe a lie, that failure is a cause for shame.

This year, my work is in embracing the truth, which is that failure is a bridge to learning. It is virtually impossible to learn from actions not yet taken.

Final Thoughts

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement” -C.S. Lewis

To say I am willing to fail does not mean that I expect every risk I take to be unsuccessful. It does mean that I will not be bullied out of taking risks because I am afraid they might not work. All of 2022, I hope to have the courage to “JUST DO IT” every time, knowing that the worst that can happen is I learn something I did not know before that leads to personal growth.

If this affirmation sounded an alarm in your heart because you too have been committed to perfectionism and procrastination, I hope you will be willing to fail too. I hope you join me in boldly going after all of your heart’s desires this year.

Let’s be UNSTOPPABLE in whatever ways that apply to your life!

Let it be So!

Until next time,
Sending you Courage, Love, and MORE Courage.
Sincerely,
D