Failure is not final…
A toxic trait of mine is that I really really struggle with perfectionism. I’m still unpacking why I am this way; I believe it’s from abandonment from my early childhoold years, but I digress. Part of this toxic perfectionism is the fear of failure. Failure feels like the end for me.
What happens when I make a mistake? I’m glad you asked. It goes a little something like this. I beat myself up, never let it go, worry and stress and dwell on it….. It’s like I carry these mistakes and failures. I’ll “let it go” but really I keep it in my back pocket to dwell on at the worst of times. And it’s really stupid. But for some reason- perfectionism can also make you feel like mistakes are so final. This attitude of finality is completely antithetical to the gospel. How can I be a believer in the gospel who doesn’t practice grace for herself in daily life?
I can get so paralyzed and not take action in certain areas due to fear of failure OR I dwell and stew on failures, acting like they’re the end of the world, them instead of coming up with lessons learned and practical solutions. I’m here to remind you if you need it, that mistakes and failures are NOT final. Sure, they may have consequences…but that’s it. It’s an opportunity to grow.
I have started listening to some entrepreneurial podcasts, and guess what all the speakers seem to have made alot of? MISTAKES. They have made massive mistakes and had massive failures and they kept going- only to go on and to build successful brands and businesses. Will failure paralyze us or will it spur us along? I can tell you story after story of the greatest comebacks coming after the greatest setbacks.
The gospel literally is the good news that covers our sins and shortcomings! The message of grace is the ultimate remedy for perfectionism and fear of failure; because we cannot be perfect in our flesh and we will fail. And we’ll do it over and over. Not only is Jesus King, but He is the KING of restoration. Our failures are not final because in Christ we have redemption and hope.
Sometimes the pathway to God’s greatest desire for your life will be riddled with failure. Don’t give up though; it’s a part of life. Don’t make failure such a big deal that you self sabotage your own future. Failure also has a way of humbling us. Not only does it continue to draw us to the Lord but it also makes us less self-righteous and able to better sympathize with others.
I’ll leave you with the following scriptures…
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways.”
Proverbs 24:16 says, “A righteous man falls seven times and rises again.” Even the righteous man falls and gets up seven times. When he falls, he just rises again.
