Failure?

This was on my Charles F. Stanley perpetual calendar yesterday, and I just had to share, as I thought it fit me a bit. Maybe you can find some wisdom in it too?

"Those who have succeeded have not internalized their failures. They have not thought less of themselves personally for having failed. They have refused to think of themselves as failures or worthless. Failure is something they have done but not something they are. This is a huge difference. In some cases, failures have spurred them on to try harder or to explore new avenues. Those who allow failure to be internalized often give up in their failures and refuse to take the risk of failing again. One of the most important lessons you will ever learn is this: failure is something you do, not something you are."

I really needed to read that, as I have been feeling like a failure for switching to the 10K instead of the 25K. I've felt like I set this big goal, made it very public (it was in the DeMeester family Christmas letter, for Pete's sake!), and now I'm not fulfilling on it. I was feeling like I was a failure for that.

However, in seeing this, it's helped me to understand that I'm not a failure for changing my goal. I'm still reaching for something that was beyond my grasp 6 months ago. I'm still doing something many of my peers can't do (or maybe don't want to do! LOL!). I'm still doing something to better myself and stretch myself... to remind me I'm alive and blessed with the health to set a goal like a 10K. And, no one says I can't run longer later.. I plan to...just not on May 8.
:-)

So, I hope that post might speak to you like it spoke to me. If you internalize, like I've been known to - KNOCK IT OFF! :-) Failure is something we do, not something we are! :-)