Wrestling with Failure

I recently attended a local wrestling tournament and I overheard an interaction between a dad and a son that warmed my heart.

There was a young boy there that did not compete as well as he would have liked.

The child was in tears and clearly distraught. His dad responded in the absolutely best way he could have, in my opinion:

“Son, I love you and accept you just the way you are. It is okay if you don’t win because it is not about winning or losing. It is about learning!”—Anonymous dad

Failure is a part of life, but it gets a bad rep…

What happens to our attitude when we recognize that our failures are opportunities to learn for what is coming next?

Failure comes in all shapes and sizes. We can struggle in our relationships, in business endeavors, in following-through with commitments, etc. However, if we are wise, we will take our experiences, evaluate them, learn what works and what does not, and develop a new plan for the next time we have an opportunity.

If you are wrestling with failure in your life, I encourage you to take heart.

Don’t beat yourself up. You are learning and getting stronger through each experience!

If you are a parent, I encourage you to take every moment to wrap your kids in love, support, and encouragement. Comfort them when they are hurting before teaching them!

After they feel comforted, loved, supported, and validated, they will be ready to accept constructive teaching and instruction, because they know that your love and acceptance of them is unconditional!

This stuff helps to build self-confidence, a sense of self-worth, and a sense of belonging.

#relationship #parenting
#resilience

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