This semester I failed multiple time at running a mile in under 10 minutes. Usually I run around an 8-minute mile but I am pregnant so I gave myself a two-minute leeway window with a goal to keep it under 10 minutes but kept failing at achieving this. I was extremely frustrated at myself because I take health and fitness very seriously and could just not understand why it was taking me 12-14 minutes to run a mile. I was really hard on myself and honestly got a little depressed over it but then realized that there was probably something I could adjust to reach my goal. After looking over my food intake, hydration, and workout routine I realized that my issue wasn’t that I wasn’t trying hard enough it was that I wasn’t consuming enough calories for my parasite and I to sustain a fast-enough pace on the run. I was short on energy and it was such a simple fix but it had bothered me for a couple of weeks until I stopped feeling sorry for myself and decided to do something about it. From this situation I have learned that there is always a way to succeed after multiple failures you just have to be willing to take a moment to reflect on the situation you are in and correct any mistakes that may have led to the failure.
Before this class my perception of failure was that it was unacceptable. I do not handle failure very well and tend to shut down when faced with it. This class has taught me to adapt and overcome failure by viewing it as a teaching moment rather than as something I was unable to accomplish. If I simply take the time to analyze and correct the mistakes I had originally made that led me to the failure, I could grow from the experience and gain knowledge in how to never fail in that particular area again. I do not think that I am any more likely to take risks after taking this class. Even though I now see that failure can be a positive thing to experience, risk taking is still something that is not in my nature. I will usually only take a risk after extensive research and weighing all my pros and cons.
Hi Kristie,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, you included tons of details and provided an anecdote to support your point of failure. I enjoyed reading your perspective on failure, and I really like the position you took on the matter! I can relate to shutting down to the face of failure, it's natural and sometimes we can't help ourselves, but it's very important to fight the urge to give up. Keep it up!