Blessing by Way of Failure
When someone says something isn’t possible, I listen. It’s foolish not to hear out their reasoning—they may be saving you a lot of heartache.
That being said, I’ve learned that when people say “not possible,” what they often really mean is, “that would be incredibly hard and painful.” Sure, but it’s still possible.
Life should be lived in a cycle of rigor and recovery, work and rest. Most Christians wouldn’t disagree. However, their definition of rigor is often shaped by the lackadaisical pace of our day. Some men think 40 hours a week is a big deal. It isn’t.
Most of us haven’t truly tested our limits. It’s one thing to break a sweat on a jog; it’s another to push through excruciating stomach and muscle cramps to finish a 5K with nothing left in the tank.
One more rep. One more mile. One more sales call. One more paragraph. One more.
There’s a limit—a breaking point. You can’t always run at 100%. No machine does that—not for long, anyway. No athlete does that either, but he can. He can turn on beast mode when needed. He can leave it all on the field precisely because he has tested his limits.
You should push yourself to failure on occasion. You should test your limits.
Perhaps the person who said it wasn’t possible was right. Or maybe they were just scared of failure and placed unnecessary limits on themselves.
There’s only one way to find out. Failure is the doorway to success.
I’ve got a bunch of failed projects in my past. So what? That’s part of the process. Safety is dangerous. Ease is a thief.
So push yourself hard. When you fail, don’t let it break you. Take a break. Sleep. Recreate. Recover. Regain some margin.
And then go at it again
I can relate to this post. We moved cross-country to rural Alabama to be debt free, start two businesses and grow our own food… with 8 kids in tow. It’s been hard. I love this poem by Edgar Guest.
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Thank you for this!