I am a total failure.
I have a ton of crazy ideas that are knocked down by clients and colleagues. I make stupid decisions. I swear too much. I drink and can’t use chopsticks. I drop food on my white t-shirts. I fail to impress important people. I am unable to write a decent book.
The list goes on & on.
Here are some reasons why failure isn’t so bad.
- Failure gets you noticed. When you fail to knock it out of the park, people are waiting for your next mistake. Knock those haters on their keisters and do something amazing with that attention.
- Failure makes you smarter. If you can tamp down the ego for two seconds, you can learn how to avoid future mistakes and errors.
- Failure makes you likable. Perfectionism is an annoying quality, and we know that likability is the key to finding a job. It doesn’t hurt to embrace your flaws and errors in judgment. It makes you human.
- Failure opens doors. I failed as a Human Resources leader. Then I started a blog. Now I’m a better Human Resources professional. Who knew that would happen?
- Failure is fun. I like an adventure, and some of the biggest failures of my life have turned out to be great opportunities to learn, grow, and change. My life is amazing and awesome, but my path was crooked and is littered with some of the biggest mistakes of my life. I don’t regret it.
It’s not so bad. You will survive.
If I know anything about my life, I’m not done failing. Not by a long-shot.
And neither are you.
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
You can’t use chopsticks??
Good post; we need to get better at accepting failure — “smart,” well-thought failures — as part of real growth and development. Even in 2010, nothing teaches better than a mistake.
KB
I don’t have good finger dexterity. I can use them sorta — but when I’m drinking? Forgetaboutit.
It’s not a party until you’ve spilled a drink, stabbed someone with a chopstick, and insulted the host.
Laurie – Please. Keep. Failing. We’re all enjoying it immensely.
For my part? If I’m not failing, I’m not trying.
Good post.
David
That *is* a party!
I agree with David, if you aren’t failing you aren’t trying.
And I too can’t use chopsticks. Always feel a little (but not much) odd being the only one at an Asian restaurant asking for a fork. Doesn’t stop me though. And Laurie, I gave up wearing white shirts while eating a long time ago.
I can sorta use chopsticks sorta okay not really. It was really bad on Saturday. I had three drinks and I said, “Sarah, can you do this for me?”
She basically fed me like a mama/baby bird.
It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
– Vince Lombardi
Yeah, it’s that time of year again . . .
I can deal with chopsticks. What I don’t like is when you go to a Morroccan place where you’re supposed to eat everything with your hands and the food is HOT!
Just don’t quote Lou Holtz and your’e okay.
Did you know he used to play Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies?
You have no need to know how to use chopsticks if someone does it for you.
Such a good friend.
One of the better lessons I learned in college was that it was (in my professor’s words) Ok to Fail.
I was about a minute into a class presentation when I totally went blank. I was staring down at the overhead projector and was completely blank on what I was going to say. I calmly said, Excuse me but I’ve lost my train of thought. I paused for a few seconds and remembered what came next and continued.
The professor commended me in front of the whole class and called it the lesson of the day. It is Ok to Fail. Just keep going/trying or just try again.
Chopsticks have probably been around longer but the way I figure it – with the Fork, they built a better mousetrap and I’m good with that.
Wow, that’s an awesome lesson. And believe me, I’m pro-fork.
Great post as always. But I’ve hit enough comments for today, so here’s a music vid response. For the punk in you. The drinker in you. And the person who keeps getting back up to go at it again.
I call Emma, my cat, chumbawumba.
If it wasn’t for my spray bottle of SHOUT, I wouldn’t be able to leave the house.
I used to be petrified to make a mistake. The more I make, the more relaxed about it I become. Maturity – or at least the attempt to reach maturity is liberating.
Good advice. (On fear & Shout.) It’s all about letting go, isn’t it?
I laugh at myself. A lot.
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky
I just tried to put about 8 almonds in my mouth at the same time. I failed and 3 hit the floor, but the others that landed in my mouth were delicious.
OMG, sports analogies on Punk Rock HR? Must be the end of days.
I’d like to see you eat almonds on YouTube. Do it.
Well that’s good to know, as I feel like a failure Monday morning. By Tuesday afternoon I’m feeling quite successful, and by Thursday I’m fantasizing about my Vegas/muu-muu/boxed wine retirement plan.
And I don’t go anywhere without a Tide stain pen.
Why do the stains always land on boobs, by the way? Mine are like magnets for food (not men).
Also, PS, Thursdays are the best day of the week.
Failure is like getting stuck in a creekbed with a flood coming.
Some idiot always screams, Oh my God, can we get out of here?
There is only one answer. Got To! Now Shut up and dig.
SHUT UP AND DIG.
Love it!
Thanks for the positive post. No one likes to mess up but then again no one is perfect. How many times have we heard that? But it’s true. It’s okay to make mistakes. Just look at them as a learning experience. If everyone were perfect this world would be so boring. You just have to look at your mistakes differently. Not only are you learning from your mistake but you are also becoming more noticed. If you seek help supervisors will see that you want to learn. They will also realize that you are making the effort to fix your mistake so it won’t happen again. They’ll remember you. I know it’s hard to admit that you messed up but just remember that everyone does. Take responsibility for your mistakes and learn for the next time.
-CKR Interactive Intern
http://www.ckrinteractive.com
Thanks, Kimberly!
Failure Schmailure. Too bad we wait till we are older to realize that trying to be perfect is a waste of time. Think of how much more time we would have had to do more fun things now if we hadn’t spent so much time trying to attain the unattainable.
Awesomeness.
I always told my employees: If you aren’t making mistakes, you must not be doing very much, because we are human and we all make mistakes.
It’s not that I wanted them to make mistakes, it’s that I wanted them to know that it would be okay and we would get through it together.
I’ve always said confession is good for the soul but bad for the reputation. Maybe it can be okay for the reputation too! I tend to push the envelope and home and at work. So I lot of things just don’t work out so well. But to your point, it keeps life fun and interesting!
A simple, but compelling post. Personal or professional empowerment should be built upon the foundation of “failing forward”. In essence, upon failure, gather the lessons and move ahead. That is just what you have done so remarkably well!
Regarding the book, heck, it’s already written in the consolidation of your posts – “The Wisdom and World of Laurie Ruettimann” HR in the Now.
Laurie,
This post is what I have been needing. I have a phobia of failing even though I do it all the time. On the surface I know it is ok to fail but deep down I am terrified of it. It is great to hear you and everyone else fails and it can do nothing but make you a better person in the long run! If I keep telling myself this, I might save myself a few white T-shirts in the future.
WOW CAN I RELATE!! 20 YRS IN H.R.! I LOVED IT, JUST NOT THE FAILURES…BUT I GOT OVER IT. I HAD GREAT SUPV’S WHO TOLD ME EVERYTHING IS FIXABLE IN H.R.!! I LOVED THEM FOR THAT. NOW I TELL THE EE’S I BRING ON…EVERYTHING IS FIXABLE, AND WE LEARN FROM ALL MISTAKES.
I love this topic and embrace it, at least conceptually. Unfortunately for me, it would impact my performance review – and subsequent rate increase (or not). So I live in fear of not being perfect, making mistakes and alas, taking risks. So sad.
I don’t like having to resolve other people’s failures— most of the time, they’ve failed so miserably, there’s absolutely no way to fix it.
Fear of failure turned me into a failure. It wasn’t until I started accepting that I’ll never be perfect and that it’s ok to screw up that I started to feel successful.
P.S. Don’t get me started on the food-falling-on-boobs thing. I don’t ever bother to demurely put my napkin on my lap, since anything that falls will land squarely on my boobs.
Heck…I can’t use chopsticks either… but is sure is fun watching my nine year old try