What do
you think of when you hear the word failure? Before a few days ago, if I heard the word
failure I would think of disappointment, starting over, or maybe even
quitting... some of the furthest words from legendary.
My friend Renee and I
started a new morning routine. We are both real estate agents and have flexible
schedules, flexible in the way that we do not have to be IN the office at any
certain time. Most of the time we actually
work from our cars! Flexibility is
great, until you start to abuse it. I
realized quickly that I needed to get into a set routine or I didn’t get nearly
as much accomplished as I’d hoped! I’d go to sleep at night feeling sad and
unmotivated... I knew something had to change.
I decided I needed more
discipline in all areas of my life, not just in my career. This is when my new
hobby was born…..GOING TO THE GYM! I know, I know… People have been doing this for years. It’s
no secret that working out helps you in all areas of life, not just in getting
that beach bod we all want. But for me it was just the change I needed to
re-start my mindset, and let’s be real for a second; mindset is EVERYTHING.
Renee is hard core
(pun intended) when it comes to working out.
I realized quickly that in my previous workout attempts I was doing it
all wrong: my form, the size of my weights, everything. She taught me that it’s going to take time,
discipline, perseverance and most importantly… failure.
Last Wednesday we were
working on the biceps. (Getting the arms
ready for those real estate summer dresses!)
She told me to go up a level with the weights. I wasn’t feeling too sure
about this idea, but I did what she said because she was basically my personal
trainer at this point. With this particular exercise my goal was to lift the
weights 10 times above my head. I reached rep number 8 and physically could not
make it to 9. Renee looked me in the eye and said, “That’s what you call failure.”
Naturally I wanted to slap her… But then she started to smile, and I was
confused. I guess she noticed my confusion, because she said, “No, failure
is good! It means your muscles are growing! You have to reach that point where
you don’t have anything left to give in order to build stronger muscles.”
This lesson was huge for
me, not just with lifting weights but in lifting confidence! Our society has grown accustomed to viewing failure
as a bad thing. We are hesitant to even
set new goals because if we fail, others will think less of us or we will think
less of ourselves. I had a few great
teachers in school, but failure has been the best teacher by far. We
do not truly learn from our successes but from our failures. If
and when I fail my new goal is to grow from it, just like my
muscles are every morning in the gym.
Let's be legendary.
