Thursday, November 5, 2015

Permission to Fail

So who's coming with me?




This is one of my favorite parts of the movie.  The blockbuster has a couple of racy scenes, I admit. But this part right here is full of lessons, at least in my eyes.  First of all, you may notice right away, the looks on the people's faces.  Skeptical looks.  Doubtful.  Disbelief.  Embarrassment.  Schandefreude.   Maybe even some looks of empathy.  No one needs to say a word because the looks say it all.  They believe "Jerry" has lost his senses.  And they are certain and positive he's headed for failure.  The scene is priceless.  Jerry, however, is on a "mission", and he's relentless.  It's almost like he knows that although the future is uncertain for him, there's no turning back now.  And it goes on to show that in fact, he was headed 100 mph toward failing miserably at the "mission" he was inspired to go after.  If you've seen the movie, you know that he learns many lessons along the way, the hard way.  He makes mistakes and lets people down.  And finds himself alone with the realization of what started out as just a dream or aspiration, but has no one to share it with.  If you've seen the movie, you also know that it has a good ending.  Jerry's perseverance gets him what he had dreamed, hoped, and worked so hard for.

So here's what I love about "Jerry"... He's  self-determined, and although he seems somewhat unsure of himself at times, he keeps tracking.  He keeps moving.  Even when everything is pointing to slimmer and slimmer chances of success.  He goes out on a limb and is willing to take the chance to fail. It's almost as if he knows his chances are slim, and he very likely will fail, but he's gonna try anyway.  It's like in his determination not to fail, he is willing to fail.  Does that make sense?  Read it again.  Think about it.  Being willing to accept failure becomes part of the determination to not fail.  Otherwise, we are afraid to mess up, so we steer away from opportunities that could very well lead us to growth and success.

Yet, when we stop fearing failure; when we give ourselves the okay to mess up,  we are simultaneously making the "possibility of failing" part of our success.  So failing or making mistakes, or messing up, losing, falling short, whatever you wanna call it, is no longer viewed as something bad but instead it becomes part of the success story.  It becomes part of the process in which we learn how to succeed.  It teaches us what not to do again.  It teaches us perseverance.  It makes us stronger.  It makes us more resilient.  And it helps us to become free.

Yes, free.  If you have been following this blog from the beginning, you might recall (maybe not) my very first post.  It was titled "Free, Free to be Me". Hence, I expressed my full heart desire to live out my life with the freedom to accept myself for who I am.  In doing so, I am accepting many many flaws because, unbeknown to public knowledge, I am imperfect.  I've messed up on a number of occasions.  I've done wrong.  I've made bad decisions.  I've hurt people.  I've lied.  I've cheated.  I've fallen short.  And yet, I've succeeded!  I've learned to humble myself.  I've learned to forgive.  I've walked the hard road.  I've learned to persevere.  I've learned courage.  I've gained grace and strength.  I've been able to empathize with others.  Others who have messed up too.  And ultimately, I've learned that in all of my mess and in all of my failures, I am loved and accepted as I am.  I am loved by a God who loves to turn failures into stepping stones to greener paths.  He turns our mistakes into springboards to greater things.  That's the God I know.  And it's been through my times of "failing" that I've learned to be most dependent on Him.  I've had to learn to trust Him and His love for me, even when I didn't even love myself.  That's how I've found the freedom to be me!

In His word, He tells us that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"- Romans 8:28.  You see God takes our failures and all of the things that we just aren't all that proud of, and He brings about His purpose for us. He makes us better than we were before we failed.  That's who God is!  Rest assured that your mistakes and failures are okay in His hands! Rest assured that although you are likely to mess up, God has a purpose for it and He can make it part of your success story.