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POD Art Submissions
Gallery
Life Advice
Column 02
Date Fails
Column 01
Expectations vs. Reality
Podster Profiles
A Day in
the Life
By Troy Torrison
Fail Harder
By Andrew McDonald
All Things Ordinary
Literature, Music, Film
Read, Watch, Learn
The idea of failure has a negative connotation; you messed up, you were unsuccessful, you are not good at something. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
You got a divorce, so you “failed” at your marriage. Did you, though? Or did you have a certain number of great years with someone, have children whom you love, learn a lot about yourself and admit when you had simply outgrown each other, allowing yourself the chance to find love and happiness again?
You got fired from a job, so you failed. Really? Or did it open the door to something new? Going back to school, pursuing something that you had always wanted to do, or even just landing at a place that is a better fit.
You didn’t get a passing grade on an exam, so you failed. But you probably studied harder for the next exam, learning things that maybe you wouldn’t have, otherwise. Maybe you even asked someone to tutor you or be a study partner. And asking for help is never a failure – it is often the strongest thing we can do.
Failure can be an opportunity for growth or learning.
It can even be comical.
Replicating the fancy wedding cake that you saw, only to have it look nothing like the photo. Perhaps you were upset at the time, but looking back, maybe you have a good laugh over it. Chances are, it still tasted wonderful and at the end of the day, people EAT cake, not stare at it.
Attempting to toss some folded sweaters on the top shelf of the closet, only to have ALL the sweaters fall down on top of you. Annoying, yes, but also fairly predictable and quite funny to anyone who witnessed it. (Okay, this may be a personal example.)
It’s okay to laugh at ourselves and those things that didn’t work out quite the way we had expected. Expected…expectations…chances are, that is the only reason we may perceive things as failures. Not because they really are, but because we had set certain expectations. Never get divorced, be a great baker, be a star employee at all times, know how to put clothes away like an adult.
Yes, society, family, friends – a lot of outside forces place expectations upon us, but in truth, we are the only ones who can really set them. And as such, we are the ones who get to move the goal posts. Only we can say if something was a “failure” or a success. And when we turn our thinking over like that, perhaps everything has the potential to be a success.
The idea of failure has a negative connotation; you messed up, you were unsuccessful, you are not good at something. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
You got a divorce, so you “failed” at your marriage. Did you, though? Or did you have a certain number of great years with someone, have children whom you love, learn a lot about yourself and admit when you had simply outgrown each other, allowing yourself the chance to find love and happiness again?
You got fired from a job, so you failed. Really? Or did it open the door to something new? Going back to school, pursuing something that you had always wanted to do, or even just landing at a place that is a better fit.
You didn’t get a passing grade on an exam, so you failed. But you probably studied harder for the next exam, learning things that maybe you wouldn’t have, otherwise. Maybe you even asked someone to tutor you or be a study partner. And asking for help is never a failure – it is often the strongest thing we can do.
Failure can be an opportunity for growth or learning.
It can even be comical.
Replicating the fancy wedding cake that you saw, only to have it look nothing like the photo. Perhaps you were upset at the time, but looking back, maybe you have a good laugh over it. Chances are, it still tasted wonderful and at the end of the day, people EAT cake, not stare at it.
Attempting to toss some folded sweaters on the top shelf of the closet, only to have ALL the sweaters fall down on top of you. Annoying, yes, but also fairly predictable and quite funny to anyone who witnessed it. (Okay, this may be a personal example.)
It’s okay to laugh at ourselves and those things that
didn’t work out quite the way we had expected. Expected…expectations…chances are, that is the only reason we may perceive things as failures. Not because they really are, but because we had set certain expectations. Never get divorced, be a great baker, be a star employee at all times, know how to put clothes away like an adult.
Yes, society, family, friends – a lot of outside forces place expectations upon us, but in truth, we are the only ones who can really set them. And as such, we are the ones who get to move the goal posts. Only we can say if something was a “failure” or a success. And when we turn our thinking over like that, perhaps everything has the potential to be a success.
The Succes
s of Failure
By Victoria Nadal
The Suc
cess of Fai
lure
By Victoria Nadal
