No one likes to fail. If someone tells you that they “never fail”, they’re lying.
I’ve learned that the way you deal with failure can have more implications that the actual failure itself.
Like most people, I’ve dealt with failure for most of my life
In Dance: when I was the only senior without a solo in that year’s Nutcracker. When I didn’t move up levels with all of my friends. When I didn’t get into a summer program.
In School: When I failed my first-ever college physiology exam. When I didn’t get into my number 1 choice for college. When I didn’t get in to Ithaca’s PT program as a transfer. When I nearly failed math every year of high school.
In Jobs: When I was passed over for my dream job just last year. When I would get a “no” with no explanation of why. When I was told that someone else was chosen over me. When I would just never hear back after an interview.
In Relationships: When I moved away from home to be with a boy and we broke up 4 months later. When my first college boyfriend promptly moved to North Carolina as soon as he graduated and left me behind ( I had 2 more years of school). When my high school boyfriend dumped me a week after prom.
In Powerlifting: When my squat got called for depth in my first ever meet. When I failed 2 benches in a row in a meet. When I miss lifts in training regularly.
Every time I failed, I had 2 choices. I could either let that failure define me, or I could let it motivate me. It would either over-take me, or I would over-come it.
As I’ve gotten older, it’s become easier for me to quickly get over a failure and figure out what could be learned from it.
Powerlifting is what really taught me HOW to fail and HOW to overcome failure. I know I’ve said this before, but I truly believe my life would have gone SO differently if I had found powerlifting sooner than I did! NOTHING is more humbling than seeing those two red lights, or feeling like you’re being crushed by a squat or buried by a bench press.
Every time I fail a lift, I sit down, analyze it, figure out what went wrong, and then figure out how to fix it. Do I need to add a certain accessory exercise? Do I need to work with a coach? How can I fix it?
This is the mindset that you should employ for ALL failures in life.
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”. -Og Mandino
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