The art of Sucking at it
Failure fucking sucks… That’s it. That’s the end of the blog.
It is a normal part of the human experience so why do we bend over backward or just “don’t try” to avoid it? I have news for you my guy, sometime, somehow, somewhere in this life, or the next (no judgy to those who plan to reincarnate) you will fail. But what will be the result? Will you end up in a better place? Or worse off than when you started?
The Art of Sucking at It
Do you remember asking your parents or guardian something along the lines of, “Hey can I have this box of pop tarts for dinner?” No? Just me? Anyway, we learn in early childhood that we can't always get what we want.
Then comes our adolescence. There we are wearing too much eyeliner and spiked belts, and the failures seem catastrophic. However, it isn’t until we become “adults” that we begin to have such a….well, “childish” response to failure. It quite literally is the fucking cherry on top of our already complicated life. Losing your shit job, getting dumped by that fucking loser, or stubbing your M-Fing toe.
Trauma, fires, accidents, backstabbing (you know who the fuck you are), rebellious kids—it’s no wonder the things we seem to fail at creating a 1980’s style montage of self-doubt, fear, guilt, and depression featuring Molly Ringwald.
And really, it’s natural to be afraid of failure—afraid of disappointment and loss. But what if you saw your failures as successes? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! I hear ya, but follow me. WHAT IF...failing is just proof that you tried something new? If you're not scared to fail it’s not new. Period. There is no growth without failure.
We already know failure is unavoidable. So if we don’t have the fucking choice of avoiding failure in our lives, let’s entertain the idea of choosing the way we respond, take the power back. Let’s begin to look at failure in a new way: as a new beginning. Let’s learn the “Art of Sucking at it.”
I myself have a P.h.D in the “Art of Sucking at it” with a minor in “Inconvenient timing.” I can count on one hand the things that current society would consider a “success” but I have more “successful, unsuccessful endeavors” (wow…) that proved I have lived a life! I have two degrees, worked in a hair salon, been a firefighter (I get it...fucking yikes), and a real estate agent. My resume looks like a messed-up patchwork of unrelated skills that any HR professional (Oh yes...I’ve done that too) would throw away immediately, but holy shit do I have 15,000 stories to tell.
So to me, failure isn’t scary...it’s a story. It’s time to write yours.