The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We all do this. We date people, sometimes the same type of person, and we expect different results. But we mostly get the same results, over and over again. It is OK. We are all human. But why do we do it?
Failure. And success. That is why we do it. We always try to always succeed. But oftentimes we do fail. We need to know that failure is OK. It is OK because it gives us the chance to learn from our mistakes. If we do not learn from our mistakes, how will we ever succeed?
Over the course of 2018 thus far, I have cut people off, I have walked away from situations I knew were bad for me, I have let go of family, and I have hit rock bottom with no place to go but up. When I got over the whole “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now,” thing, I realized that life was giving me the chance to rebuild.
Here was my chance to do with my life exactly what I wanted to do with it, not what someone else wanted me to do. I thought for the last 3 years or so that I had failed at my marriage, but in reality, my marriage gave me my daughter. The repercussion of marrying way too young was that my ex and I had grown apart. That is OK because I still have my daughter.
I have started to go to college again, for the 3rd time. Even though I was so close to getting my Associates degree in occupational therapy, I changed my major again, to journalism and mass communication. Talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum. But, the way I look at it, why should I waste money to go to school and get a degree at something I am just OK at when I could go to school and get my degree in something I absolutely love doing?
Writing is my passion. It is in my soul. I have learned so much about myself as a writer since I started studying something I love: journalism. I have failed time and time again. I have fallen flat on my face. I have hit rock bottom a few times. But every time I fail, I get back up and try again.
Is that still considered insanity? I have failed too many times to count, but now, I feel like I am getting to where I am supposed to be in my life. I feel like I am doing what I am supposed to do with my life. I would not have figured that out if I had never failed.
Failure gave me the push to make the necessary changes to get where I want to go in my life. Never be afraid to fail. Never be afraid to take risks. If you fear failing, you may miss out on what you are supposed to do. You may miss out on life.
You do not get to where you are going by taking the easy road. If you really want something in life, it is going to be difficult to obtain. It will be a long, winding road to get where you want to go, but it will be completely worth it in the end. The success of achieving what you want in life will feel greater than any of your failures.
Featured image via Etty Fidele on Unsplash
