Thursday, March 24, 2011

Failures.

Photo credit: tanishapina; Flickr.com

I really love the fact that the photo going along with this quote is of a hand and it's black and white. It's simple, yet a difficult  concept to really beat into our brains.  I've always heard that our failures don't define who we are, that our mistakes make us stronger.

But sometimes that is one of the most difficult things to accept.  Personally, when it comes to failing, I always attribute it to something about me.  "Oh I failed this test, it must mean I'm too dumb to understand it."  But in reality, it could be something like the fact that I just don't enjoy the subject enough to really try to understand it or it's just not my forte.

Our failures in life don't define us, or something about us.  They don't make us who we are, even if we like to attribute this to our human error.  You can't always win everything, you can't always be correct.  You have to fail sometimes, but it doesn't make you a terrible person.  You learn from your mistakes and failures, and you get back up and try again.  It reminds me of another quote I used to love:

“I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work." by Thomas Alva Edison


What inventor ever got anywhere by giving up after their first failure?  It's just like tries in life. Sometimes it takes you a few tries at different things to realize what is your forte and what you love to do. It's such a complex concept, even though the quote itself is only five words!


You can have your own opinion on whether you think it's a complex concept or a simple one, but to me I find the contrasts in the simplicity of the photo and the quote to be something of interest. 
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5 comments:

  1. britt.coltMarch 25, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    This is so refreshing to read, and I agree. Just because we've made mistakes in the past does not mean that we have to live in them. That's the last thing we should do; we should overcome them and let make us stronger! Thanks for putting a smile on my face this morning!

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  2. Natalie RobertsMarch 25, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    It's a really hard concept to come to terms with, I think. It's difficult to separate yourself from your failures. I really do like the quote though and agree with you that the image vs. the text is a really interesting concept

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  3. Robin KramerMarch 25, 2011 at 8:28 AM

    I love the image!

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  4. LizMarch 25, 2011 at 8:33 AM

    Such a true quote, but so hard to accept. The way you put it reasons with the part of me that wants to say if I fail, I did something wrong. If Thomas Edison can have that many tries, then so can I.

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  5. AnonymousMarch 25, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    in the words of the great Kanye West "tha-tha-tha-that that don't kill me, will only make me stronger"

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