F A I L U R E .

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

Something I L O V E to see in my classes, with both children and adults alike is the little successes. But what I L O V E, even more, is to see them trying, the want, and the courage to do what they believe they can't, but try it anyway.

I would often have my kindy kids say 'I can't do that Miss Jenna' - my reply was always the same... 'How would you know if you haven't tried?'... I see adults on their mat give me a look of uncertainty, again my response is always the same... a look of 'you got this'.

The fact is, IT DOES NOT MATTER if you 'fail', fall on your bum, can't quite touch your toes or are a little off balance. It's all about feeling something when you do it and learning.

As a self-confessed perfectionist life can be hard. You DO put things off that you think you can't excel in. The fear of failure is a thief of joy because we can all enjoy something without being the best... THE FEAR OF FAILURE IS THE ONLY THING THAT STOPS US FROM SUCCEEDING. But we should all be taught that is ok, normal AND exactly what we all need from time to time, to 'fail' in order to get better, to experience and to grow.

What is failure anyway? It is something you put upon yourself. I 'failed' my driving test 3 times before passing - did I really fail? NO - I credit that experience to being a more competent and vigilant driver now. I 'failed' a term in my second year of uni. Did I really 'fail'? NO - Because of that 'failure' I had the most wonderful and valuable year Living in Bruxelles, Belgium making friends for life and gaining a huge accolade on my CV working as part of the marketing team at Levi Stauss travelling around Europe.

With so much pressure daily to get the right marks, pass the test, be the best, we set ourselves up for failure with constant comparisons, failure is what we make it and failing is just a way of finding better ways of doing things, better experience to have and a better understanding of ourselves.

When we believe we have faild it can be an objective point of view. During my art foundation year at collage I would throw away any picture I painted or drew that I didn't like, that I didn't deem 'good enough' that I had 'failed at'... and miraculously these pictures would reappear rising from the dead on my desk. My tutor told me... and I will never forget this even though it was 15 years ago... 'just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean someone else won't LOVE it.

AND THAT IS EXACTLY THE THING.

''Failure is not a destination unless you give up. Keep trying and it is part of the journey.” - Jenna Offerdahl