Fear no failure

Talking some more about fear, one area of life where it shows is in the fear of failure.

 No one likes to fail but it is in fact one of the ways we grow…yes it is.

Recently I was going through some sad moments because of something I didn’t do as well as I could have. Yes I felt like a failure…but the Holy Spirit kept reminding me that the fact that I failed in something doesn’t make me a failure. “Sure it does” (I thought)…NO it doesn’t!!!! It most definitely doesn’t. The thing to do is not gripe about failing but ask yourself not just the important, “why did I fail?” question but more importantly

 “what can I learn from this incident?”

I’m sure I’ve told you about John Maxwell’s book that liberated me from feeling like a failure when it seems that I fail. Then just this past weekend, a guest minister reiterated that failing doesn’t make you a failure. He said FAIL means First Attempt In Learning and you become a failure when you do not learn from that lack of success - now that’s quite the eye-opener.

I guess the next question is what happens when one fails more than once in the same area? Benjamin Franklin answered that question from personal experience and he put it in perspective: “I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.”

The bottom line is: while we do not set out to fail, we must ensure that if & when we fail, we must not fall...and if we do fail and fall, we must rise up and keep going.

Secondly, like Fredrick Smith says: “Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something” especially something new like what's facing me now - that's a word for me - and Beryl too.

Take this from me - though we may fail (& fall), we are not failures...we can all succeed through failed attempts. If you fall off the ladder, get up and keep climbing - that's what I intend to do...

so help me God!