The Importance of Failure

“I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.”
― Benjamin Franklin

I can't tell you how many times people have told me that they quit exercising because it hurts. Yet they know that they hurt because they don't exercise. Such is the dilemma of modern man. Our occupations often force us into limited positions for extended periods of time. New research indicates that even those that exercise when they can still have adverse physical effects if they sit too much. My advice is: keep trying.

You may know that I have registered for the Reeds Lake Triathlon next month. My intent is not to brag but to inspire. Too many people have said to me "I couldn't do that". I tell them that under the right circumstances, I know they could. I failed last year when preparing for the same Triathlon. I failed by not giving myself enough time to increase my distance in swimming. I was nowhere near the 1/2 mile needed to complete the race. To enter the race would have been suicide.

My first experience with failure was when I joined the football team as a junior in high school. My parents were convinced that I was going to seriously injure myself, but by junior year they gave in to my pleading and they said "go for it". On the very first day of weight training, we were told to do various exercises including bench press, squats, overhead press, dips, and pullups. We paired up so that everyone had a spotter to help with the lift when needed. As a novice, I feared what would happen if I went too far. Would I really hurt myself? We started with pullups, and my spotter was trying to help by pulling up my feet while standing behind me. He was stronger and more experienced than I, so I trusted him. After the tenth pullup I was exhausted. He kept encouraging me to push myself, which I did. I did one more with his help. I wanted to try one more to get to twelve, which was our goal. My spotter helped, but it wasn't happening. My hands gave out and I lost my grip. I fell face down as my spotter was holding my feet. I expected the room to erupt with laughter. It did not. My teammates respected my effort more than my accomplishment.

My message is do what you can when you can and keep pushing to failure. Not that you have to fail all the time, but if you don't occasionally test your limits, how can you know where they are?