I always find the hardest part of anything you want to accomplish in life is just starting it. I just started back running again yesterday after a long break during the Christmas holidays. I love running as it not only keeps me fit but it also clears my head and I feel fresh and really motivated after a long run. I can easily run 12 -13km now without feeling tired afterwards. However, this time last year I would struggle to complete 4-5km, I wasn't running very often and if I missed a day or two one week this would lead into 2-3 weeks without running. I now know the reason for this. You see, I would always sense a feeling of failure if I didn't maintain a regular running schedule and then I would question myself "what is the point to continuing" with this if I've already failed to maintain a consistent running schedule. This is the fear of failure. Something which is inherently apart of or social conditioning. In schools were taught to fear failure as a bad thing. I never sat my final exams in secondary school. However, I remember everyone telling me that without these exams that you could achieve nothing in life and that you would be working a night shift in some factory for the rest of your life. This scared the hell out of me "The Fear Of Failure", so much so that I went on to attain a first class honours Physiotherapy degree :)
It's only as I have become older and that bit wiser (so I like to think) that I can actually embrace the wonderful experience of failure. I have failed at many things in my life and I have come to realise that indeed this is not failure but lessons learned. This is what you call progress. You can never move forward in this life unless you fail. You can never embrace change unless you fail. You can never grow as a person unless you experience and embrace failure.
I touched on this topic with Aisling in this weeks podcast episode below. I hope you enjoy this week blog.
Take Care
R.R
