reawakened

I recently started reading Abby Wambach’s book “WOLFPACK”. If you’re not familiar with Abby, I hope that you’ll grab her book and learn more about her; she’s an inspirational leader and we all can learn something from her.
Abby is one of the world’s best soccer players. She is a two-time US Olympic gold medalist, a FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. At the time of her retirement, Abby had scored more goals than anyone, male or female, in history.

I’m sure there will be many quotes that I love in this book, but this one caught my eye immediately:
Old Rule: Failure means you’re out of the game.
New Rule: Failure means you’re finally IN the game.

YES!! The road to purpose is paved with tremendous highs and lows. If you never fail, it’s probably because you’re playing it safe which may feel good, but will this lead you to your purpose? Probably not.
Sometimes I see young people who I think are amazing in every way but they’re not venturing too far out of their comfort zone because they worry that they’ll fail. I think that sometimes we think that unless we’re perfect, we’ve failed, and as Abby said, out of the game. It’s just not true.

Failing can be the universe’s way of telling us that we are either in the wrong place or we have important lessons yet to learn. This is not failure, but an acknowledgement that we are out on the field giving it our best and not playing small. Sometimes I see people who aren’t failing but they’re playing in the minor leagues when they’re fully capable of playing in the majors. Lack of failure isn’t succeeding.
I’m not much of a risk-taker, but I do know that whenever I’ve been too comfortable it’s usually a sign that I’ve stopped growing. I’m in no way advocating that you purposely do less than great work, but if you do your best and you don’t get the results you expected, give yourself credit for trying.

There isn’t a successful person anywhere who hasn’t “failed” in some way. And, in fact, most people who have found their purpose know that they never would’ve done so without experiencing not only the highs but the numerous lows as well. Not succeeding isn’t failure.
Your purpose can only be attained if you’re willing to venture out of your comfort zone and try. Babe Ruth is remembered as one of the greatest homerun hitters of all time. He was also the greatest at striking out five times in his career. He couldn’t have hit the homeruns he hit without stepping up to the plate. The same can be true for all of us.
Big hug to all of you!