Failure Is Not Shame

Failure Is Not Shame

When I was a small boy, I had to learn to walk.  I fell down a few times.  There was no shame in that. Falling down is a part of learning to walk.

When I really got into singing in high school and college, I would, on occasion, sing a few flat notes.  I probably shamed myself.  I beat myself up for my flaws as a singer.  As I look back on that time, I have to put things into perspective.  As in learning to walk, learning to sing is a process.  My vocal chords weren’t developed yet, nor was my musical ear trained to discern pitch perception.  Those are learned traits.  They are not shaming moments. 

In the tenth grade, I took mechanical drawing.  I was lousy at it.  I believe I made a D minus.  My teacher, Mr. Casteel, had the good sense to write on my report card something like … “Mike really tries hard to do a good job in my class.  He just doesn’t have the insight, a basic skill, for mechanical drawing.”

And yet, I’m a darn good drummer, singing, conductor, writer, speaker, manager, banker, and a few other skills and talents I’ve accumulated along the way.

Oh my, I’ve had some hard learning curves, and that is what they were – LEARNING curves.  Not shame closets, not failure marks – learning curves.

I’ve written on this topic a dozen times, and will continue to address this subject.

Failure is the gateway to success, to learning and improving.

FAILURE IS NOT FINAL!

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration