Falling is Growing
by Sam Davidson on February 9, 2012
Tweet
We need to fall down more. We need to fail – to fall flat on our face – and go through the painful, but valuable, experience of picking ourselves back up.
Falling is human. We need to get over the idea that no one falls down, that falling is bad, that when you fall you don’t talk about it, and that no one can recover from a fall.
Go to a playground. Watch the kids running around, sliding, climbing, jumping, racing, and chasing. Watch them run with the innocence and wonder that only a kid can muster. When a child is running, she doesn’t think about the fact that she might fall. Usually, especially if she’s very young, her torso will want to go faster than her feet, and she’ll crumble to the ground.
But, she’ll get back up. Her neurons and nerves will process what happened and her small hands will dust themselves off and she’ll be going full speed in no time.
You need this same passion for your life. You need this same perspective for your business.
Try things. Fail fast. Implement big ideas and grieve for them when they don’t work out.
But please don’t stay seated on the bench while all of us go playing on the monkey bars and swings just because you think you might fall down if you dare to stand up and run over to play with us.
You will fall. I guarantee it. There is no four-year-old on the planet without a scuffed knee or a bruise. And there is no entrepreneur who hasn’t run out of money, launched a dud of a product, or faced stiff competition.
Every time we fall, we grow.
We get back up, clean ourselves off, and try once more. The trying again is what makes us wiser, better, stronger, and successful. Bitten, but not bleeding, we have the wisdom now to prevent that same fall. (Though there will be others; oh how there will be others!)
The only way to live in the present is to realize that falling is real. It is then that we will realize once we fall, it’s in the past, and a new, better present awaits because it is one we can now face much wiser and battle-hardened. We are more ready now that we have fallen down.
Picking yourself up is not an art form, either. It is an act of sheer will. You can do it.
The playground is waiting. Run fast.
{ 0 comments }
Ditch the Notes to Become a Better Speaker
When I speak, I don’t use notes. This probably because all the early speakers and preachers I admired didn’t use notes. They didn’t read. When you don’t read, as Seth Godin points out, your speech becomes better. It’s more natural. Audiences connect with people that appear natural instead of stiff. We all like conversations more [...]
How Bad Do You Want It?
I know you’ve heard this one before: An energetic young business man meets a guru one day while walking along the beach. It’s the same guru so many have told him about. Apparently, this guru is the wisest and most thoughtful person in the world, but usually inaccessible. Knowing how to interpret fate, the young [...]
Shop Last
If you’re feeling unhappy, grumpy, upset, shocked, or in a funk, don’t go shopping. In fact, shopping should be your last resort when you get bad news, a day isn’t going your way, or you feel like crawling back in bed. Go for a walk, go to a movie, go for a long drive – [...]
Church! Now for a Limited Time!
On Sundays, when I write, I do so at length on some topic of religion, Christianity, Jesus stuff, or faith. Beware. What if you were only supposed to go to church for a limited time? What if church was only supposed to be relevant for a season of your life? For many reasons, we assume [...]