I learned about failure and rejection at a very young age. Their lessons have served me well over the years.
When I showed an interest in musical theater, my parents were encouraging but practical. My mom accompanied me on my first audition and was horrified by the entitled attitudes of the stage parents and their kids. I knew I nailed the tryout. I hit my song out of the park and I was riding that high all the way home. Thankfully the O.G. IncrediMom was there to keep me grounded. From that day forward, she drilled humility into me by reminding me that no matter how well I did, I would be lucky to get a part, any part at all. There were people who wouldn’t even receive a no-thank-you phone call.
Failure and rejection were never a big deal to me. I didn’t get this one? Okay, maybe next time. My moment will come. But I wouldn’t have learned that without my mom drilling that into me.
If you want to chase your dreams, you have to be willing to take risks. But if you’re afraid of failure, you won’t risk very much, will you? I hope Boy Wonder fails less than I have, but still, we all fail. It’s as sure as death and taxes. But “What do we fall
Here’s a list of things I’ve learned every time I’ve had to pick myself up from a failure:
- Be positive and surround yourself with positive people
- Be a lifelong learner
- Keep your expectations of others high.
- Don’t bring work home with you.
- Life is not a dress rehearsal. Take risks.
- Dare to be different and you might wind up a leader rather than a follower.
- Failure is not as important as how you respond to it.
I would love to hear how you have learned from your failures. share your stories of growth in the comments below.