I’ve been thinking about failure lately. Given that each of us has finite energy each day, I wondered how much of it I expend avoiding failure. The answer is a lot. This has had the deliberate effect of causing more successes than failures at the end of the day. But it’s also had a tremendously negative effect. All of the effort to avoid failure has caused cautiousness, hesitancy, and even avoidance. Risk aversion.

One of the reasons people stop learning is that they become less and less
willing to risk failure. - John W. Gardner

Mmmhmm. Failure is simply feedback–so you can get your ass up and try smarter next time. Failure is education and must be treated as such. The only real failure is if you stop trying. Once again I’m reminded that action is everything. And just to remind myself: Think less, do more. Here’s a couple more pertinent quotes:

“A life which does not go into action is a failure.” - Arnold J. Toynbee

Don’t consider losses a waste of time. Consider them an apprenticeship. - Greg
Norman