"There is no failure in trying" | A story that makes things a little easier when you accept there is no right answer
Hello, this is Hapiru.
Last time,
I wrote about "a place where you can safely fail."
But, while writing it, I thought.
Perhaps,
before the place, there might be a more important premise.
The phrase "There is no failure in trying"
At such times, as I wrote about a little in a previous article, it is a passage from "If It's So Fun, Why Is It Work?"
"There is no failure in trying"
This phrase, when you look at it closely,
is a bit of a strange way to put it.
It sounds like gentle encouragement, but
it is actually a bit detached.
If there is no failure, there is no right answer either.
Because,
the fact that "there is no failure in trying" means,
👉 The line between "success" and "failure" is ambiguous to begin with
that is why.
In other words,
👉 It stands on the premise that "there is no right answer" from the start.
Something that didn't go well is "just a single point."
and it is not the end.
When you stand on this premise,
an event where "things didn't go well"
👉 becomes not a failure, but simply one result.
It just adds one more point.
Whether that is good or bad,
is not yet known at that moment.
We are too quick to assign meaning
But in our daily lives,
we try to assign meaning to things immediately.
Is this a success or a failure? Was it right or wrong?
And,
the moment we think "it was a failure," our next step stops.
In reality, you can only know afterwards
When looking back,
"I am where I am today because of that failure back then"
there are many times when you can think that way.
But at the time,
you can only think that it "didn't go well."
In other words,
👉 Meaning is something that is attached later
I think that's what it is.
Another perspective from "Whose Shoes Are You Wearing?"
There is another impressive way of thinking in this book.
👉 "Can you be a different person tomorrow than you are today?"
That is the question.
Instead of aiming for great success,
try a slightly different approach
have a slightly different perspective
try changing just a little bit
The accumulation of that,
will change the future as a result.
That is why "trying" becomes the focus.
When you stand on this way of thinking,
what is important is,
👉 not to guess the right answer but
👉 to keep trying
becomes the key.
And,
as long as you are trying,
everything is moving forward.
It is not failure that is scary, but the "meaning" we attach to it that is scary
This is what I think here.
What we are truly afraid of
is not failure itself,
👉 but perhaps deciding that "this was a failure."
The moment we apply that label,
we stop right there.
Feeling a little easier even without a space
Of course,
having a safe space to try things out is important.
But before that,
just by holding this premise,
you can feel a little easier.
👉 This is just one single point
Just by being able to think that way,
you can move on to the next step.
What I think as myself
Up until now,
I have said that "everyone is different and everyone is good."
That is,
...
It's not just that everyone is different,
👉 It also means that the "arrangement of dots" leading to the destination is different as well.
I believe that is what it means.
What is a failure for one person,
might be a necessary process for someone else.
Finally,
If you are currently,
feeling like something "didn't go well,"
please try changing your perspective just a little bit.
👉 It might not be a failure, but just a single dot.
perhaps.
What kind of meaning that dot will have,
later on,
is still unknown.
Be generous like a leaf.
Don't compare.
Go with the flow.
Within that flow,
I hope to be able to stack each and every dot one by one.
Thank you for reading until the end.