‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.’ – Samuel Beckett
‘If at first you don’t succeed try try again!’ As a child we have this concept so deep in our veins that trying again isn’t a question but an obsession. Think about the time you first learned to ride a bike, how many times did you fall off? How many times did you try again? Uncountable! Or how about when you were first introduced to basketball, how many times did you throw the ball at the hoop before it went in? Uncountable! What about tying your shoes laces, memorising your home telephone number, getting cookies of the top shelf. How many times? Uncountable. What was it about us as children that made us such naturally determined beings. Simplicity is the answer. We didn’t clog our minds with numerous scenarios, possibilities, predictions and we didn’t dwell on the past. Just because it didn’t work yesterday had no relevance to today. The only thing in mind was the goal and so we tried again and again and again and again and again and then ‘Yeah, I did it, I did it! Look at me, mommy daddy, I did it!’
‘It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not live at all. In which case, you’ve failed by default.’ – J.K. Rowlings
As adults we complicate matter so much so that we build a strong enough fear of failure to dissuade us from even trying. Have you notices when someone succeeds we ask questions like, at what age? How long did it take you? Was it your first attempt? Sometimes such questions can even lead us to feel ashamed of our achievement because it was not achieved within a certain parameter.
‘Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it,’ – J.K. Rowlings
If you’re of healthy body and sound mind, there’s no reason to stop trying. The only failure is never having tried. Stop reasoning yourself out of even taking the first step, stop weighing up the pros and the cons, stop building up a case for why not to bother. So what if no one has ever done that before? So what if it might not work? So what if you’ve already tried? So what if you don’t have the required credentials, try to get them then try again. Just Keep Trying. Just Keep Going. Just Keep Swimming.
‘Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.’ – Dale Carnegie
We’ve all heard the saying ‘life is short’, but the truth is that life is long, so ask yourself, what else am I planning on spending all that time doing if not trying to realise my dreams?
‘The worst thing one can do it not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give into it, to spend years in silent hurting, wondering if something could have materialized – and never knowing’ – David Viscott
Remember that its not just the success of your goal that is important, you learn much more in the time spent trying to reach your goal. See your time of trying as a journey and don’t forget to stop and take pictures along the way because at the end of the road you will want to look back and smile at how far you’ve come.
