FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. A quote attributed to NASA Flight Director, Gene Kranz, prior to the launch of the Apollo 13 Moon Landing mission—although he did not actually say this. His character in the movie, played by actor Ed Harris, said it. According to Wikipedia, FDO Flight Controller Jerry Bostick was interviewed by two script writers for the movie. He was asked if there weren’t times “when everybody, or at least a few people, just panicked?” Bostick replied “No, when bad things happened, we just calmly laid out all the options, and failure was not one of them.” He later realized the writers were thrilled with that response and turned it into the tagline of the movie.
Frankly put, I am an expert at failure. Experience is a great teacher, and I am a life-long learner. Still, I’d prefer to look at failure the way Thomas Edison did: I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
From: The Dark Between Stars by Atticus (P. 152 from his book)
The trick is always to try collect the tries like trophies and you will never lose.
My sister, Victoria, is a huge fan of Atticus and she sent me the two books he had published by that time. The poem above reminded her of me, so she had it bookmarked. I like it. I discovered his poems are inspiring, witty, elusive, enticing, and deeply intimate. I like his books too!
I recently came across an article (originally published October 2017 in Medium) by author, Tony Fahkry, reprinted by Mission.org. It is titled “This Is Why Failure Is Not an Option, But A Prerequisite For Success.” It contains a lot of outstanding information and perspectives on why we should reframe our perception of the word failure. It IS inevitable.
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” Dennis Waitley
In the Spring of 2020, saddened by the shortage of sympathy cards during Covid’s onset and at a desperate time in our history, I was motivated to start a niche greeting card line out of recycled card stock. I studied industry forecasts—which at the time estimated to be about 5% growth over the next five years. By the time I launched the biz, I had already battled and overcome some 19 major obstacles (such as card stock that was produced slightly smaller than was ordered– discovered only after producing over 60 cards, etc.) I viewed these obstacles as things to overcome so, I just kept plugging away—even as the obstacles continued to block my efforts. In December 2022, I reevaluated what I was doing and decided to peek at industry forecasts again, which now reported that the past two years had seen a 3.5% decline. Enough! I accepted it was time to close the business.
I am returning to my writing roots. It’s what I’ve known I wanted to do since I was 13 years old.
Early in 2023, I learned of the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I’d missed this treasure trove of creativity and motivation for decades! I met a friend that day (a polymer clay artist) and asked if she was familiar with it. She was and kindly loaned me her copy, the 10th Anniversary Edition. Within a week I had purchased The Artist’s Way: 30th Anniversary Edition. It’s an outstanding book.
I mentioned “secrets” above. People suffering from eating disorders, hair pulling, gambling, or other addictions, often try to keep these habits a secret. We are embarrassed, we feel insecure, or otherwise fear someone will find out. Another goal of mine is to overcome a bad habit that I’ve had throughout my life. Most of us have at least one bad habit and many of us have several. I’ve been successful in eliminating some of mine through the years—but there is one that has stubbornly resisted all attempts. Complicating the issue is vanity. This is where secrets come in. When we keep a secret—such as covering up a bad habit, we give it more power.
My intention to publicly address this bad habit should lead “to a more positive neuropsychological state by increasing oxytocin levels and decreasing the cognitive burden.” Read more about the Neuroscience of Secrets here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-reboot/202407/the-neuroscience-of-secrets
Best wishes and positive energy to all those trying to kick a bad habit to the curb- permanently!