Saturday Confession: Fail Doesn’t Mean Failure
Here’s my confession.
I failed.
But I am not a failure.
Over 15 years ago I didn’t know the difference. I had a difficult delivery with my first child. I didn’t know about hormonal imbalance, worse than normal. I did know he tried to come at 32 weeks. I knew the doctor thought he’d be a quick delivery. None of us knew the baby’s cord was wrapped, and he was in the wrong position. At hour 20 they decided to send me to emergency surgery. The hospital was so rural they had to call the team in. Wednesdays were their day off.
When our son was safe with us and all calmed down, the nurse came to visit. She looked at my chart and remarked, “Hmm. C-Section due to failure to progress.”
I only heard one word and let it soak in my memory and absorb into my identity for years.
Failure.
Through a lot of prayer and amazing Bible studies, I learned failing and being a failure are not the same.
Be encouraged teen driver.
Rise up, fired employee.
Take heart, NaNoWriMo writer.
In November, NaNoWriMo writers go gung ho with keyboards ablaze to craft 50k words in 3o days.
In a month, I came up with 15k+.
By NaNo standards, a fail.
But I refuse to fall into the trap that I’m a failure.
I wrote during one of the busiest months our family knows.
- –Tendinitis with the wrist
- -Two kids busy with activities that required my support, help, and encouragement
- -Travel
- -A child that came down with an ear and sinus infection
- -Other writing endeavors
- -Thanksgiving
- -Hubby traveling
I made 50K one year and got the bug out of my system. These days I use the November challenge to get as much as I can of the rough draft done. One year I had about 20k. It varies. I will probably never see 50K in one year.
And that’s okay.
If you’re discouraged because something you set out to do wasn’t the success you wanted it to be, remember this. The goal might have failed, but you aren’t a failure.
There’s a difference.
Don’t fall into the trap like I did.
Because that would be failure to progress.
