Bookmark Website  | Free Registration  | The Team
The Lounge  | Champions  | The Wire |  Schedule |  Audio  |  Arcade  |  The Top Ten  |  Historical  |  Email  |  Video

What If I Fall Flat On My Face?


I hope you do. Sounds awful, I know. But I really think the best thing that can happen to you is for you to take a timid little leap and fall flat on your face. Then, I want to see you get back up, evaluate what you did wrong, and jump again. Keep on taking that leap of faith and learning from each and every mistake until you become used to jumping and used to falling. Then, you'll get over the fear of falling and you'll finally begin to concentrate on flying. I want to see you run with everything you have and dive into your dreams with so much passion and fire that you forget all about the possibility of failing. You will never find your wings until you do.

The fear of failure is a cruel and stupid trick we pull on ourselves. The fact that the fear of failure stops us from going after our goals and dreams means that we've already failed. I ask you this, who cares if you fail? Brilliant people fail every single day. Brave tenacious people fall flat on their faces and even get laughed at every single day. Here's an example of a perfectly nice person who has been known to fail, Christopher Reeves. How many mornings did he wake up telling himself that he was going to walk and then went to bed having failed yet again. Great guy, people love him. He's not going to let a little thing like yesterday's failure stop him from working hard again today. He's an inspiration to everyone who knows him. Who ever planted that stupid idea in our heads that we had to be successful at every single thing every single day in order to be likeable?

What is failure anyway? In my eyes, Christopher Reeves is definitely not a failure. Nobody with that much tenacity, focus, and drive is failing. He is a real hero. You haven't failed until you've given up trying. As long as you're still taking leaps of faith, you're still a winner. Failure, like everything else, has its breaking point. At some point, if you hit at it in the same spot over and over again it eventually breaks. How many light bulbs did Thomas Edison make before he got it right? Most people don't know the answer to that because they don't care how many times he failed before he finally succeeded. He kept learning from each attempt, adapting to the knew information, stayed the course, held the dream, and didn't let the fear of failure nor the fear of other people's ridicule stop him.

One of the reasons that I think we hear so many stories of immigrants coming to this country and making it big is because they were raised on stories of the ability to create whatever kind of life you envision for yourself here. It's like all the stories they grew hearing about how everyone has the right to succeed in America overrides any underlying belief that they themselves could fail. They don't have a fear of failure so they just roll up their sleeves and get to work making their dreams come true. Sure they stumble and fall and learn a few lessons along the way, but they certainly don't give up and quit.

Afraid of what other people are going to think of you if you fail? Have you ever met someone who played it ultra safe that was very impressive? People who don't take risks are seldom if ever cheered, admired, or in the limelight. Besides, Americans love an underdog. We love to see some scrappy go-getter who has no business thinking they can win. We love to watch that same person stumble and fall a few times only to pick themselves up and really make something of themselves. It's the American Dream. Hollywood knows it. They've made an entire industry of showing us the stories of underdogs who dust themselves off and finally become winners. Nobody pays money to watch a movie about some perfect person who designs a perfect dream and experiences a flawless life while accomplishing everything they set out to do easily and effortlessly. Boooooring! We don't like people who come across as too perfect anyway. So go ahead and fail, it gives us a reason to pay attention to you, to relate to you, to cheer you on.

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given on this subject was back in high school when I was first learning how to water-ski. I was told, "If you aren't falling down, then you aren't trying very hard. You're playing it safe, staying in your comfort zone. You aren't getting any better." That pushed me to get past my fear of falling. I beat the heck out of my poor body that summer, but I also made impressive gains in my ability to master the sport. Nobody talked about how many times I fell that summer nor how black and blue I was, they only talked about how fast I was learning and what a great job I was doing. My teacher would sit back with this self-satisfied smirk on his face because only he knew how hard it had been for me to push past that comfort zone to allow myself permission to fall down. Nothing beats taking that big bite out of life and having it bite back just a bit! Laugh it off and dive in again.

Are you really going to shelve something so dear to your heart because you might fail? If I could promise you that you'd only fail twice and on the third attempt you would succeed, then would you go ahead and suffer through the first two failures in order to get to that third time? Of course, you would. All that's left to debate is how many times. So go ahead... take that first leap of faith.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge

About The Author

Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow's Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books and articles have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. After years of high heels and business clothes, she is currently enjoying working from home in her pajamas. To read more of her articles, sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, and get free previews of her books go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net.

Skye@TomorrowsEdge.net


MORE RESOURCES:

Tulloch gets motivation from reaction to his spot on Top 100 list
NBCSports.com
And so Tulloch has found a way to find extra motivation, based on the response to his placement ahead of Revis. “Trust me, I've been [a] fourth-round pick, undersized, this and that. I've heard it all,” Tulloch said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit ...

and more »


The 'Invisible Man': Liu Bolin Talks About His Process and Motivation - PetaPixel
PetaPixel
He talks about the process of creating some of his best shots, about his start, and about the motivation behind his most impressive work. Fair warning: the talk is given with an interpreter but you'll find you need to activate and lean mostly on the ...



Motivation: LeBron James & Chris Paul on What it Takes to Make It
Hoopsfix (blog)
What does it take to make it? Listen to this motivational talk from LeBron James and Chris Paul at LeBron Skills Academy a few years back; Step Curry and a beardless James Harden can also be seen in the group.

and more »


MLB odds and picks – Reds' Tony Cingrani has extra motivation against Phillies ...
SportingNews.com
LAS VEGAS -- The Reds get Johnny Cueto back from the disabled list on Monday against the Mets, which is going to cause a ripple effect in their rotation. Someone will have to be taken out of the rotation and either moved to the bullpen or sent down to ...

and more »


The motivation factor - Pakistan Observer
Pakistan Observer
Sunday, May 19, 2013 - People need to have some intelligence, knowledge base, study skills, and time management skills to work, but if they don't have motivation, they won't get far. Motivation is a process that causes us to act towards achieving a goal.



Was there political motivation in IRS activity?
American Thinker (blog)
This would be similar to the activities of the MSM where it is not necessary for there to be a conspiracy on how issues are covered or not covered because they all have the same motivation. After all, the IRS can hardly view with enthusiasm groups ...



Russia: Investigate Homophobic Motivation for Killing
Human Rights Watch
A hate motive clearly should not be ruled out in this brutal case. Regardless of what Tornovoy's sexual identity was, that the accused may have acted believing he was gay or apparently believe it's to their benefit to claim he was gay, is emblematic of ...

and more »


Atlantic High grad turns loss into motivation
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Gage Fenwick moved from Alabama to Port Orange and enrolled at Atlantic High School as a junior in fall 2011. He immersed himself in academics, sports, tutoring, drama and student service organizations and government. He played on the tennis and golf ...



WBUR

Grades-To-Play Motivation Propels Some Boston Student-Athletes
WBUR
It can be hard for students especially at the middle school age. That's when you kind of figure out which way you're going to go — if you're going to keep doing your work or slack off with your friends, and so I think Play Ball! gives them that ...



Plenty of motivation to chase CCS berths at track semis
Palo Alto Online
To say he has some motivation heading into this week might be an understatement. And then there's Menlo-Atherton senior George Baier. He was the unlucky loser twice last year as he missed advancing in the 800 and 1,600 by just one place. Fortunately ...


Google News


Advertisement



Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us

Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved.