It's Okay to Fail.

I've been talking to a some people in my life about what my vision is for this blog to be, and the kind of commitment it needs to get there. I value their opinion, mostly because they are a million times more knowledgeable than me in just about everything, but also because it's nice to bounce ideas off someone to get their feedback (constructive people are a great point of reference, don't ask idiots... they will just annoy you, learn from my mistakes hahaha).

Curiously, there is one question I've been asked multiple times, so much so that it has stuck with me (enough to make me want to right about it, obviously).

"What if it doesn't work out?"

I think it's very possible, perhaps even probable this will in fact fail (at least in some part), and frankly that's okay with me. I don't think enough people are willing to say that, for whatever reason.

I think it's okay to fail.

If you've failed, at least you've tried. Too many times I've seen others (and hey, let's be introspective, I'm just as guilty myself), give up pursuing something out of fear of failure. Starting can be half the battle, and there is something to be said for plucking up the courage to go for it anyway. I've heard it said (although I can't remember by who... or whom, I never know which is which) that "If you've never failed at something, you've never lived". No one wants to live a life of playing it safe, always wondering if they "could" have been something more if they had just taken that chance. The "what ifs" alone would drive me up the wall.

The way I see it, everyone fails. In some way, you've put effort into something and it hasn't turned out as planned, but maybe that's only part of the story. I think that it's what you do when you fail that says the most about you. Do you roll over and play dead? Do you let your failure consume you until it defines you? Or do you brush yourself off, regroup, and move forward? I'm not saying to repeat the same things over and over hoping for different result (in fact I’m pretty sure that's the definition of insanity), but maybe you need to come at your goal from a different angle. Maybe your path to success is a little different than you originally planned? Maybe your final success will be something else entirely, but it's all part of the journey and if you give up halfway you might never end up where you want to be.

This blog is a passion project... my little corner of the internet where I can talk about my thoughts, or anything I want for no other reason than "just because" (I know some of your are cringing at my grammar, but I promise you will get past it). It's not meant to be popular opinion, and you may not agree. It's possible you might hate everything I write about. I might completely suck at this whole blogging thing and run out of steam (or subjects, or sarcasm although the latter seems much less likely). This could just end up being a disaster.

But that's all okay with me.

Right now, this blog feels like something exciting and I have no idea where it will go from here. It's possible it never worked out before because I was just too afraid of that question I've been asked time and time again.

This could all fail.

Well, I'm not afraid of that anymore, and even though failure is the likely outcome I'm going to give it a go anyway.

Just because I can.