“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou
So often in life we beat ourselves up over our perceived failures – those times when we don’t live up to our own expectations or the expectations of others, or we make choices that result in undesirable consequences.
We view the situation as a disaster, and ourselves as a screw-up. But is it really? Are we?
The truth may be that failure is just a human idea not based in reality. After all, few things are truly failures. Even in the worst of circumstances we grow. We learn what we want and don’t want; what works and what doesn’t.
If we approach life from the viewpoint that failure is not an option, so much good opens up to us. We can try things more fearlessly without all the pressure. When learning to walk, toddlers don’t give up after the first few awkward steps and decide, “I failed. I guess walking is not for me”.
When looking back on our life’s path or planning our future navigation, it would benefit us all to give the idea of failure a rest – and to give ourselves some grace.