As children, we have unbridled aspirations.
We dream to be astronauts. We dream to be explorers. We dream to be princesses. We dream to be the world’s greatest sports star.
We dream.
Looking back at our childhood dreams, we rarely feel we failed because we didn’t become the astronaut. Or marry the prince. Or found new lands. Or had stadiums cheering our name.
Instead, we look back and remember a time when dreams had no limits and anything was possible, even if, in reality, it never was.
Yet we never use the fail word. Because, in truth, we never failed.
Just because something didn’t happen doesn’t mean it’s a failure. Far from it.
That failed astronaut? Perhaps he became a scientist and found a cure for cancer.
That failed princess? Perhaps she became a politician and ended global hunger.
That failed sports star? Perhaps he became an author and wrote the book that changed the world.
Failure is simply a word. A perception of what might have been versus what is. Another path on an ongoing journey.
Something that exists because we allow it to.
If we allow failure to exist, we can also disallow it. And if we disallow it, we can think the way we did as children. Where one dream not realized becomes another yet to happen.
Because if something can still happen, it hasn’t failed. And if failure hasn’t yet happened? Perhaps it never will.
