I was talking to someone earlier tonight about failures. I used to look at my past and see all of the failures. I failed to graduate my first attempt at college. I failed to succeed in the military. I failed when I owned a business. I failed at relationships. It is overwhelming when you look at life like that.
Instead I choose to look at it like this-
My first attempt at college taught me about sports medicine and massage. That knowledge has been amazing throughout my daughter’s life. I massaged her when she was a baby, through her growing pains, and when she hurt her ankle in gymnastics. That failure prepared me.
I was medically retired from the military. While it may not seem like a failure, it always felt that way to me. My body failed me. My experience in the military gave me the knowledge to connect with my husband in ways most couldn’t. The disability that I receive enables me to be a stay at home mom and care for my two beautiful babies without putting all of the financial strain on my husband. My GI Bill that I received also paid for me to return to school and ultimately finish with an MBA. None of these things would have been possible without that failure.
I bought a hair salon from a friend that was struggling with her health. I realized after that I had no business being in that world. It just isn’t who I am. I have two looks, a ponytail or down. I learned so much working with those people and built relationships that are still the most valuable that I have. I also learned how to take care of and style curly hair. If you have ever seen my child’s hair you understand the importance of that! Lastly, I learned that for me to be a business owner, it needed to be something that I was actually capable of doing myself. Ten years later I am a business owner again and definitely learned from those mistakes.
I read somewhere that bad relationships make you appreciate when you finally have a good one. That is so true. Sometimes you have to kiss the frogs to find the prince. I found my prince and all the frogs from my past were lessons in how to be the best wife and partner that I can be. I am thankful for those failed relationships because they are a reminder that even on the hardest days of my relationship, it could never be as bad as it’s been before.
Failure is a part of life. Why not just change the way you look at it and appreciate it for what it was. A lesson. Lessons bring knowledge and knowledge is power.
