Eve Di Potenza

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I’m not a huge fan of the word ‘failure’. You’ve got FAFO, learning experiences, setbacks, different choices… all kinds of words you can use instead of failure. In this Western society’s mindset of “If you’re not first, you’re last.” It really forces a lot of unnecessary envy and anger into people that doesn’t need to be there. People lick their chops waiting for the fall of someone really successful and find delight in it.

There’s a script that’s been written, and anyone who isn’t the lead actor is considered a failure by this mindset. You didn’t have 2.5 kids, a degree, a job paying 250K a year, a large house with a big yard for your golden retriever to run around in by the age of 25? Failure. Oh, you did all the things and played your role perfectly? Oh man, we can’t wait for it all to tank for you. heh heh. This mindset is weird to me.

What if you rent an apartment with a friend you really get along well with and have a cat or a dog or both, and you’ll likely never retire, but you’re happy with your TV shows and your walks in the park and the fact that you can sleep in late, stretched out like a starfish in your own bed on a Saturday morning? To me, that’s success. Flip the script, be happy.