Let's dig into failure

“Failure is bad” and “perfection is good” are myths in the same way constant exponential growth capitalism is a myth.

These are all off the mark. First, constant, exponential growth as an economy is unsustainable (we are seeing the consequences of this myth today). Second, perfection doesn’t exist. Hard stop. Perfection does not exist. To think it does exist and is an elusive thing to chase (and that it is one thing to all people) is also delusional. And the last myth - failure. Oy. Failure happens every single day. Why you fail and what you do with what you learn are the important things to focus on.

How are all of these connected? They are not just connected, they are deeply intertwined and they are killing us.

• Believing that failure is bad kills our soul through shame, diminished self worth and increased anxiety that we are irredeemable.

• Believing perfection exists and should be achieved kills our trust in others, our desire to deepen our connections with our community and reduces our ability to open up about our needs and struggles.

• Believing that constant exponential economic growth is sustainable kills our connection to the ecosystem that we are a part of, throws off the balance of our planet and literally kills the life that we are tethered to to take a breath.

It all starts with believing that failure is bad.

Let’s break down failure in the next couple of posts including:

• “Avoid failure at all costs” or “fail fast, fail often”?

• Failure is part of the human experience

• Failure is how we innovate, create and grow

And in the last post of the series, I’ll share a template for a CD or a Curriculum Deficere if you are fancy (as opposed to a CV - Curriculum Vitae) so that you can celebrate your own failures!

Stay tuned!