dailydatewithgod

One of my greatest fears is failing.  I am aware of how universal this fear is and how much it has actually contributed to the experience of failing. Fear of failure led to failing to try.  Failing to take a chance.  Failing to create something new.  Failing to explore.  Failing to question.  Failing to mess things up. Failing to ask for forgiveness.  Failing to let myself be human. My fear of failure led to me creating the very thing I was trying to avoid.  Thankfully I have learned to open myself up to the opportunity that lies on the other side of failure.  With some maturity and open eyes I see my attempt at trying to be perfect and always get it right is the one thing I have failed at most.  Failure does not mean abandonment.  Failure does not mean idiocy. Failure does not mean loneliness.  Failure does not mean hatred.  Failure does not mean no second chances.  On some level of my heart I get that the fact that I am breathing means I cannot fail. I always looked for a prescription that would erase all the darkness and defaulted nature I felt within.  God has shown me that making a mistake is not a failure.  It is an opportunity for further learning.  It is a chance to choose a different direction.  It is an opportunity to learn about myself and others.  Failure as I understood it is actually something that can bring me closer to others.  Who can relate to someone who is perfect?  Who wants to connect to someone who is perfect?  God is less interested in whether or not I misstep or in my eyes fail and more interested in what I do as a result of it.  As I have learned to demystify the fear of failure and embrace a little messiness knowing it is not who I am, I am free to breathe.