Failure and Success

Building Character

“The new midlife is where you realize that even your failures make you more beautiful, and are turned spiritually into success if you become a better person because of them...” 
 Marianne Williamson

When I was a younger person, making a mistake was unacceptable to me. I had to be the best at whatever I did, or I simply didn't do it. I can't tell you how many times I've walked out a place because something was happening there that I couldn't master in five minutes. I could not bear looking like a fool for longer than that. It's a hard way to live—pedestals are wobbly, and it's easy to fall off. And, God knows, perfection doesn't exist in the human realm! Thankfully, as we age, maturity comes along for most of us.

I watched a couple of college football games last weekend—they're a great study in success and failure, both on the field and off. One young man, a receiver, made a number of excellent plays for which he danced and pranced in the end zone and on the sidelines. When, finally, he missed a touchdown catch, he looked as though God had slapped him in the face. I thought to myself, “That young man really needed to miss that catch.” Sometimes failure is a gift, not because it knocks the wind out of our sails, but because it teaches us that we, too, are human.

Failure is not the enemy; it is simply part of life. The way we handle failure defines our character. In fact, it is failure, not success, that instills in us certain excellent character traits; humility, compassion, and mercy. Those traits make for a truly successful life.

                                                           In the Spirit,

                                                                Jane