" Failure ... "

“ ... Life will come our way, it has only just begun

The world will die alone, the frail will fall below

Time will take our place, we return it back to one

The calm before the cold, the long and lonely road

Look for the light that leads me home

Tired of feeling lost, tired of letting go

Tear the whole world down, tear the whole world down

Failure

We bury the sunlight, we bury the sunlight

Failure, failure ... “

~ Breaking Benjamin ~ Failure ~

***

It is still hard to say the F word out loud.  Most of us feel awkward, vulnerable, uncomfortable with the idea.    We are afraid of it and don’t want to even mention it in case we jinx our situation ... and by the way, the F word I am referring to is ... failure.  

For most of my life, I allowed failure to define me.  I let failure decide if I was going to achieve what I set out.  I let failure guide my outcome.  Regardless of new work, new ventures or new goals, failure always crept into my mind.  

Yet I have had to learn that over time, learning to love failure and embrace it in ways, give me power.  Failure does not require me to give up, it requires me to learn ... more.  I have had to learn that failure can be a momentary defeat, something that is a small obstacle, to again, learn and move through.  

Failure is only real once you accept it as real

you only fail at something once you give up on it ... 

Failure gives us a to re-evaluate and find the gift within what has occurred, teaching something valuable.  Failure will never seem permanent, nor will it shatter your confidence and belief in yourself.  

Failure may paralyze you,  

but it doesn’t define you ...

If we simply view failure as progress, we realize we are moving forward.  The only way to never achieve anything in life is to never try to do anything.  When we experience failure, we are in the process of learning, growing and achieving our goals. 

Regardless of your level of risk taking, your level of success will be equivalent to the level of the failure that came before it ... failure is not as important as the courage it takes to try ... keep going, you are enough xx

www.walkstrong.ca

" How Far … "

There's a boat, I could sail away

There's the sky, I could catch a plane

There's a train, there's the tracks

I could leave and I could choose to not come back

Oh, never come back

There's a chance I could change my mind

But I won't, not 'till you decide

What you want, what you need

Do you even care if I stay or leave

Oh, what's it gonna be

And it's up to you to say ...

And it's up to you to say how far ...

~ Martina McBride ~ How Far ~

***

There are times when you need to reflect back on your journey and take a look at how far you’ve come.  We get caught up in our day to day living that we can lose perspective of what our life use to be like.  

Reflecting back ... three years ago today, 

we had our first day at the Gerson Clinic in Tijuana, Mexico.

Our worlds focus so much on what we lack .. wealth, vanity, image or love, that we get caught in the need to have, be, or do more before thinking that it is good enough at this moment, now.  Reflection allows you to celebrate your progress, however you measure, big or small ...

Looking back, I am amazed as to how this chapter of my life started and where it has lead me today.  I feel a huge sense of accomplishment that I am here, still.  This journey has been tough, adjusting to this new life ... and many times I took rest with my family and friends who gave me comfort and assured me that my journey was still worthwhile ... immense gratitude.

Finding blessing, discovering the gifts, appreciating what is, knowing all is well ... sometimes life’s pivotal moments help you identify your true calling, your true passion.  Life is funny that way, it can through you off course so that you get back on course.  And then the time comes when you are living your ideal life even in an un-ideal circumstances.  

You manage, you cope, you adapt, you live ... Yet one of the best pieces of advice I received was when you fail to acknowledge how far you’ve come, it robs you of a lot of joy and price ... so just because I may not have figured it all out, I still come a long way from.  

It is about finding a balance for striving for your goals but also celebrating your mini-victories along the way ... As you go about your day, try to notice when you shift towards your goals, however small the step may be ... and then honour it in some way.  And although our lives are a constant work in progress, take the time to bask in everything you have achieved thus far ... because the best motivation is to cherish & celebrate each step along the way.

Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people

 * Albert Einstein *

" Fix You ... "

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse ...

Tears stream down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down your face

And I...

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

~ Cold Play ~ Fix You ~

***

How do you fix things that seem unfixable?  Most of us have had the experience of breaking something and knowing, in an instant, that it could never be repaired.  And even though I am a believer in new beginning and do overs ... sometimes it is brokenness that is beyond repair.

For example, take an object that breaks into several pieces.  If the pieces are large then it can easily be repaired but if it is broken into a millon little pieces the likelihood of repair if next to none.  

The same can be applied to relationships yet how can you tell if you are dealing with a million little pieces or a few large ones?  As dynamic and unique as we are, for some it may be an easy fix and for others not so much ...

So what determines if something is fixable?

How we handle situations and how we cope has a lot to do with it.  As well everyone has their breaking point and may be less forgiving of some things than they are of others.

“Your greatest successes always precede your greatest failures ... “

Most of my experience with unfixable brokenness has to do with things I have said ... I speak and the damage is done.  And in an attempt to fix it, the more I talk, the worse I get ... the hole gets deeper, the pile becomes larger, the mess gets messier and there you have it, a perfect mistake aka a painful learning experience.

So you let it go and move on because maybe you can’t fix it.  

I recently read that there are a few effective things that you can do about what you can’t fix ...

• Shift your focus to the things you can change
• Simplify your life
• Decrease your needs 
• Create more art
• Be prolific
• Help more people
• Look for the opportunities in disguise
• Spend more quiet time alone
• Ask for Help
• Learn Something New

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them ... so upgrade our mindset to be able to face our new problems”

Regardless don’t focus on what you can’t fix otherwise you’ll lose hope ... because there are many things that you can do something about and it’s enough to worry about them.