Failure is a Fast Pass to Growth!
Remember that movie, where the Boss says,”We have a ZERO tolerance for failure!” and we all thought, “That’s so impressive!” Well, we were wrong. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying hard enough. We cannot grow if we don’t push our comfort zone. We could stay inside our cozy bubble and keep doing the same thing, the same way, hoping for a different result, but isn’t that Einstein’s definition of insanity?
Failure teaches us lessons that success never will, like humility, resilience, and discernment. I’m a big proponent of pushing to failure, because it scares me so much. And, usually, things that scare me make me better. That’s what happened on October 22, 2019, after looking at a picture of myself at my beloved daughter’s wedding. I was roughly the size of a barn, and I felt nauseous and old. I had no energy, and my body ached 24/7. So, I started a new eating regime on My Fitness Pal and lost 20 lbs. But that’s not the important part. The last 2 months of working with Dr. Jenn Gaddy, Sports Medicine Physical Therapist, has been a game changer.
I hadn’t done any strength training in years when I started with Dr. Jenn, so every day was a lesson in failure: I failed to do one full push-up, I failed to complete a set of squats without losing form, and I failed at everything but showing up. These failures begat a lot of stories about how I was in my late 50’s, and I should just accept my fate. The stories went on and on every time I put on my gear and headed for my daily dose of suckage. So, why didn’t I quit? 1) I’m really stubborn (my best and worst quality), and 2) I know that failure is the only way to see real change.
I preach failure to all my volleyball girls. Every time you miss a serve or shank a pass, you have learned another way NOT to serve and pass. If you can take the judgment out of it, failure is just data. It’s an excellent way of discovering what not to do. If we can focus on the data, it’s a fast pass to growth. BTW, I’m down 30 lbs. and up to two sets of twelve full push ups, and I ordered single digit clothing for the first time in twenty years. More importantly, my body feels like it’s working for me, not against me.
What would you try if you embraced failure? If you’re interested in your own strength journey, you, too, can work with Dr. Jenn, because (SPOILER ALERT) she’s moving her practice to 850 Elite! You and your player can get on the strength train and feel true Girl Power!
XO
Mama T.
P.S. If anything in this blog moved you, message me at terrif@findyourpride.org and tell me all about your best failure. It would make my day!
