Aspire To Fail

Children are such a blessing.

My youngest is almost 16 months old. She is on the verge of talking, yet she has been understanding conversation for months. At 9 months, she took her first step, yet had been building the strength, balance and form for months prior. I watched her as she studied her older sister running and climbing, I could see the desire in her eyes, and every day, she took one step closer to mastering the art of walking. She fell down and cried, a lot, but always got back up and, most importantly, never gave up. I see her watching my mouth as I talk with her, mimicking the movements of my lips and experimenting with sound. And soon, all her lengthy observations will pay off in endless walks together and conversations until late in the night.

As we get older, these necessary and valuable trial and errors somehow become obsolete. We label them failures and try to get ahead by completely skipping this step. There is no getting ahead without this step; there is no progress without failure. And, who decided that failure was a bad thing? Why does that word carry such a negative connotation? We all fail, but I believe those who fail and continue trying are the ones who haven't labeled failure as a step back, but instead view it as a step in the right direction, a step ahead.

She got me thinking, when was the last time I failed? When was the last time I ran with wild abandon towards my dreams? When was the last time I gave myself an opportunity to fail, to fall? I, like so many others, tend to play it safe. I do what comes natural, what comes easy. I do what I'm good at because I like to win.

I see in myself this societal hardwiring that has taught me to only do things I'm good at, things that are gender based, ethnic based. I'm a woman, therefore, I fit in a certain box, I play certain roles. I'm a mom, therefore, I have certain duties, certain expectations. I'm a business woman, therefore, I have certain obligations, certain responsibilities. But, why? Have we ever asked why? My daughter doesn't ask why when she is following her impulse to run without the fear of falling. All she sees is the object she's running towards. There are no obstacles in her way except mastering the art of walking before picking up speed to run. And, I highly doubt she has labeled that tiny hurdle an obstacle. She will only learn obstacle when I teach her it (Note to self: don't). She doesn't walk like a girl or run like a toddler. She runs like the wild spirit that resides inside her towards the things that make her happiest in life.

I aspire to be more like my daughter. I aspire to fail.

How can you fail today?