We Remember Failure More Than Success

It is funny (OK, wrong choice of words here), but maybe I should say that it is interesting how humans tend to remember their failures and not always the successes as much.  At least I know I do that.  I find myself focusing on those darn failures and holding them up as proof that my life is horrible. If you don't, my hat is off to you!

When I was working at grocery store in college, I had to get on the loud speaker and say to a customer, “your order is ready”.  Ok, doesn't that sound pretty simple and easy to do?  Unfortunately it was much harder than I realized.  When I started to speak, all that came out was your…blah, noise, blah..blah, noise, sounds.  Imagine nothing sounding coherent that came out of my mouth.  Words that had no meaning and no language from where they came.

It is all that came out.  I died of embarrassment and horror.  The failure was evident in my eyes.  After that moment, I struggled to talk into a microphone or in public in any way.

Barely able to get words out...

After college, I had a job where we had meetings with several hundred people and I had to talk to them on stage.  I would be sweating profusely and barely able to get any words out.  My mouth would be so dry it felt like I was eating sand.  Everyone would look at me and offer all kinds of remedies and none of them worked. 

Fast forward to a year ago and I actually gave some talks (Syncing The Mind and Body Seminar).  I was nervous, but I did it.  It actually helped that in the job I had prior to this, I was training people almost every week in different cities.  I was doing conference calls and several other things things where I was talking to strangers in situations that weren't comfortable.

I still get shy...

While these last experiences helped me, I still get shy and sometimes it is hard for me to speak in front of people.  And yet, I want to teach!  Figure that one out!  At one time in my life, I was not afraid to talk and then that all changed.

I remember growing up as a kid where I was taught in some very physical ways, kids are to be seen and not heard.  I remember a cousin that made fun of me when I tried to tell them something that I found made me happy.  I remember the times I was beat because I didn't say the right thing at the right time.  I remember when I tried to speak up and was met with punishment beyond belief.

Yet, I see myself as having failed several times in life and sometimes that just isn’t easy point to get back from. Sometimes these moments have really taken me down and sometimes they are just too hard to even want to take a glimpse through my eyes.

The one thing I know is that usually these events become a springboard to future growth.  Yes, they may feel like failure in the beginning, but as I've found in my own life, things change.  Sometimes I needed those low moments of failure to find the next step to the springboard that would launch me further into life.

#Failure

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

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Truth In The Body

One of the best ways to discover the truth in life is by listening to your gut, body, intuition and your mind.  If you truly have come to know these parts of yourself, then the messages they send will be clear enough to get your attention.  All too often, humans are so induced by the mesmerizing parts of life, that they fail to see what is standing directly in front of them.  Listening to your body is not a mental exercise, it is felt in the body.

How do we listen to our gut?
One of the best ways is to give silence to our life during the day.  We constantly run here and to, not giving one ounce of concern for our physical, mental or emotional body.  We think that as long as we are running at top speed, that we are effectively living our life.  Just as a muscle needs renewed energy to continue functioning, so do we need renewed energy to perform at peak efficiency.  By not stopping in life, we take away the ability to renew our mind and body.  The stress of our days and the demands upon our time make withdrawals from our life until we realize through the pains or health conditions we face, that it is time to start taking care of our body.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must -- but don't you quit.


Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow -
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
it seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the
night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt --
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit --
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

-- Author Unknown

Note:
If you are the author, please message me so I can make sure you are credited for this poem.



*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must -- but don't you quit.


Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow -
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
it seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the
night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt --
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit --
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

(this came from a poster I had hanging on my wall for years, no author was listed)