Success is often built on failures...

People think success comes easy. That they can start something, whatever it is, and BOOM, they are successful. And believe me, I wish it were that easy. 

But the hard truth of the matter is that success is generally anything but easy. As the quote above states, success is often built on failures and frustrations and even catastrophes. But without the failures, without the frustrations, we would never find what works and THAT is what makes someone successful. 

​Think back to some of the moments you've been the most successful...or you've felt the most successful. I know, for me, some of my most successful moments have come after I've tried a number of different things and FAILED! And yes, it is frustrating to continue trying after you've failed, but that is how we learn and grow!! 

Most of us aren't experts immediately upon starting something new, whether it's a new recipe or a new workout or a new job. We all have learning curves and things we have to learn before we can become masters at whatever it is we are learning! 

But once again, in this society of I WANT IT NOW, it's hard for us to be patient with that learning curve. It's hard for us to suck at something (to be blunt) before we get better! Right?! 

I was recently talking to a friend about when I first started coaching at Crossfit Cafe. I was TERRIFIED because I'd never coached before. And I used to write out the workouts for the next day and plan out my warm-ups. Yep - I wrote them all out (I can show you my old notebooks, LOL). And I learned from that and I grew as a coach. And after my first evaluation, I took the constructive criticism and notes I received and I continued to grow as a coach. I know I am always learning and improving, but I look back from where I started and know I've come a long way. 

It's like that with literally everything we do. It takes time. It takes effort. And it takes wanting to learn and implementing the necessary changes you need to learn and grow.

The biggest problem is most people give up too soon. They don't see the results they want immediately so they throw in the towel. They say it didn't work for them. That it was too hard. Or too much. Or too [Fill in the Blank].

You wanna know something though? In many cases, these people didn't put in the necessary work to even see that things were changing. They WERE being successful! It just didn't equate to their version of success...or how fast they wanted to be successful. 

To me, success is getting up every day and giving it my 100%, however that looks for that particular day, even if it means taking a step back and allowing myself time to rest! Success is trying over and over again, even if I'm failing, until I've learned how to do something, or until I've found the best way to achieve my goals. 

I watched my step-daughter be successful at learning how to dive earlier this summer. She went off the diving board over and over again, belly flopping over and over again, until one time, she FINALLY got that (not quite perfect) dive! But the one thing I took away from it is that she NEVER gave up! She just KEPT TRYING, she didn't get discouraged, and she kept improving and trying until she succeeded!! 

We need that child-like bravery again! Knowing that we may fail, but continuing to pick ourselves up and try again. Failing doesn't mean it's over. It doesn't mean we are done. It just means that particular way of doing it wasn't the best way. On to the next method, way, etc. 

So let's be successful this week! Successful at trying and possibly failing at new things. Successful at picking ourselves back up and trying again, over and over!

I'd love to hear about some of your stories too! Please leave me some comments to share! 

I hope you all have a beautiful and successful week! 

With love and wellness, 
​Whitney