Fail with Style

I can’t believe that it has been 8.5 years since I talked about the power of failing!  This month was definitely a good reminder of not to fear failure.  After all, as I wrote in my very first blog post, failure is a step towards success.

I watched both of my kids learning how to walk - neither of them ever got tired of failing on their butts.  Each attempt got them closer to their first step and, as parents, we eagerly waited for them on the other end.  For them, falling or not being able to make it to the other side, was not a failed attempt on walking.  It was just a way to learn.  Now that they are not babies anymore, that mentality, luckily, hasn’t changed much.  As they both try to get better at their sport, they fail hard to succeed even better.  They do not hesitate to try the hardest, even if that means a hard fall.  To be honest, they are both a great role model to follow and that is exactly why I follow their footsteps.

On my birthday, we all participated in a ski race called “Banked Slalom” at Sugar Bowl.  It was my very first ski race, unlike rest of my family.  I put my fear of crashing or going too fast behind and faced the challenge with a style.  I put on my mom’s sweater from the 70s to bring on the Alpine fashion and went for it.  I didn’t get much of a ranking against 20-year olds but I did it! Same with Ela - she went for it and she was the youngest and the smallest.  She also didn’t have much of a chance against those under 15. Meanwhile, Kaya and Derek were able to make it to the podium.  Kaya came in second and Derek won in his category.  It was very rewarding to watch their successes, knowing all the failures they both went through to get to where they were.

Definitely the youngest on the podium

proud number one!

Kaya, Derek and I ended the month with another ski race called  “Pond Skim”.  This was definitely a first for both Kaya and I.  If you don’t know what pond skim is: It is a race where you come down a hill with as much speed as you can so that you can ski through a “pond” to make it to the other side without falling in.  Kaya was the youngest to participate and he definitely failed with the best style and attitude ever.  As far as my failure goes, there was no style but certainly the positive attitude.  Now, both Kaya and I are ready for next year to show our skills and to make it to the other side with as much style as Derek did this year.

he just needed a little bit more speed

i JUSt needed a better entry into the water…

So with all that said about failure, I will have a challenge for you.  Find yourself a pull-up bar and try to make one more pull-up than your usual count during the month of May. No momentum, just your arms and sturdy core. You can start with a weight-assisted bar, if you have access to a gym. You will see that the success is there if you let yourself fail first!

Each time when you come out of a failure, I am there for a high five!