GROWING SEEDS: "Celebrate Failure"

 

 

A few months ago, I read an article by a lady named Sara Blakely.  Sara is best "known" for inventing Spanx; a female undergarment that takes our natural "rolls" and gives the illusion of a woman's idea of perfection.  Yea, this is probably news to you men, but my bet is, most every woman reading this either has a Spanx in her drawer or wants one. 

Sara's article was on Failure.  Celebrating Failure to be more exact.  Captivating topic seeing as Spanx generates more than $240 million in sales each year.  But she tells an interesting story....a story that we should tell our kids as we load up their backpacks for school on Monday....our spouse as they head out the door to a job they don't like....and to ourselves.  I, like most of you, have had a great deal of failures in my life, but when we pause and think back on that failure, many times we can see the "good" two steps ahead that wouldn't have happened if not for the failure.  I'd like to share a little bit of her wisdom with you today:

"Growing up, my Father used to ask my brother and me at the dinner table what we failed at that day.  Which was so interesting....he'd actually celebrate it.  And he'd actually be disappointed if I didn't have something that I'd failed at.

So I can remember saying, "Dad! Dad!  I tried out for this and I was horrible!" And he would actually high-five me and say, "Congratulations, way to go!"  And what it did was just reframe my definition of failure.  Failure, for me, became not trying...versus the outcome.  My Dad would encourage me that anytime something didn't go the way I expected it to, I should write down where the hidden gifts were and what I got out of it, and I started realizing that in everything there was some amazing nugget that I wouldn't have wanted to pass up.  Once you redefine Failure and realize that failure is just not trying, then life opens up to you in so many ways."

Friends, Sara was taught that one of Satan's most powerful tools in his arsenol is the Fear of Failure...a fact we should teach each of our children and ourselves.  But we have an even more powerful tool; we have the power within us to Celebrate Failure. 

Take that, Satan!