Failure...what's to fear?

"It is hard to fail, but worse never to have tried to succeed" ~Theodore Roosevelt

The other day I was messaging with a friend who is just starting her running career. She asked some logistical questions, but then she also said, "I am so afraid of failing. Things normally come easy for me, but this isn't easy." I responded back with something like, "Life is full of failures, it's how you deal with them." She is a determined chick, so I know she will be fine.

I have been thinking about the notion of failure since that conversation. The fear of failure is not only expressed with fitness and dieting, it's also expressed for school, work, relationships, etc. I often wonder what causes fear to be so high in some, and low in others. Sometimes I see people go into hard things and conquer it with very little self doubt. Then there are times I see others (like myself) question the heck out of everything.

Whenever I start something new, my immediate thought is, 'what if I don't keep this up.' Behind that thought, is a tiny bit of fear of failure. I always remind myself that it's 'ok' to start something and stop. It does't mean that I've failed. It just means that I need to re-evaluate my goals. Are they set too high? Are they realistic to MY personal situation? Where is my level of committment? Did I set this goal to compete with another person? Usually when I go through these questions, I either persist with my original goal or change things to make the goal attainable.

I think our biggest issue is that we measure ourselves against another person, not our own person. Thus, when we don't meet another person's level of activity, fitness, weight, whatever, we automatically tell ourselves we have failed. 

So with that, the point is,

1. It's ok to "fail." Dusting yourself off and starting over is the key to success.

and

2. You can't fail if you don't start. SO start. Make an uncomfortable change and see what happens!

I like to live by this, I failed my way to success. (T. Edison)

And Success is so sweet, isn't it?

Today after work, I must get to the gym to either do an interval run or a tempo run. I need to see what my plan calls for. I've not been doing all of my scheduled runs. I have been feeling really run down lately. I've been doing what I want with regards to exercise. Today I feel like running, so I will run.

Tomorrow I'd like to try Zumba Toning. I probably will also do a short run in the morning.

Also, I am moving! I am so excited. When I moved back to Houston, I temporarily moved back in with my parents. Well, temporary lasted 2 yrs. It was a good two years. But it's time to move on...so, I am moving on! I am renting out one of my parent's rental properties. It's been vacant for a year, so lots of cleaning and painting needs to be done to it. I will start that process this weekend. yay! The house needs some TLC. I am looking forward to making it my own.

I also am looking forward to getting a dog, and moving in :)

Have a good Wednesday!!