Art Price, a friend from work, introduced me to a new term as a joke, but it has become a hard fast rule. We go along in life doing good work and maybe we get an “atta-boy” from our boss or a co-worker. One day something bad happens and we have an “aw-shit” moment. We screwed up. Did you ever notice that it takes only one “aw-shit” to erase ten “atta-boys?” Why is that? Why is it that people tend to remember those “aw-shit” moments and forget about all the “atta-boys” we’ve accumulated along the way?
I like to believe that I get “aw-shits” by trying hard. The more work I do the better the chances are that I will occasionally fail. The failure does not mean that I am a failure, it only means that I tried something that didn’t work. It is human nature to play up the negative. Why? I haven’t a clue. Maybe one of you can fill me in. In his life time, while working on the light bulb, Thomas Edison tried over five thousand filaments that failed When asked by a reporter if it was time to give up after failing five thousand times he replied. “I have not failed, I have identified five thousand things that don’t work.” Thank God he didn’t give up. We might still be using candles to light our homes.
Filed under: Motivation | Tagged: failure, goals, success | 4 Comments »
