Failure is Not a Certainty: The Value of Perseverence

Finalize topic on Tuesday. Write script on Wednesday. Film on Thursday. Edit on Friday. Upload on Saturday.

This is my weekly routine for making videos. There’s more to it, of course. I need to take photos for my thumbnail, write out captions, etc etc. But I have a solid routine now. And it works for me.

Until this week.

Plans Sometimes Fail

My neighbours are getting a new roof. But not just one roof: three. One for the house. One for the gazebo. And now one for the garage. This makes for a lot of noise. Not exactly an ideal soundtrack for writing or filming.

So what should I do? Scrap the whole thing? Write off the whole week? Postpone until next week?

Or do the best that I can under less-than-ideal circumstances?

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Obviously I went with the latter. But I seriously considered giving it a miss. I wasn’t planning on making a video with a lot of banging in it… this week.

But isn’t this the way?

We create a vision.

We plan the details.

We take action.

…And then something goes wrong.

Sometimes It Feels Like an Epic Fail

A couple of years back I went to a tournament in Lakewood, Washington. Everything seemed to go wrong. We Googled the location, but somehow ended up with the wrong address, and drove to the wrong location… across town from where the tournament was actually held. Frantically driving across town, my teammate feeling unwell in the other vehicle, making frequent stops. Me changing into my uniform in the backseat while we were driving. (I’m pretty sure my Sensei and his wife are still recovering from that memory.)

We came in late, almost missed our first division. No time to warm up. No time to stretch. No time to practise. And the entire day continued like that. Rushed. No breaks. Overwhelming and unpredictable, as tournaments sometimes are.

Don’t Give Up

My last division, my sparring division, turned out to be the best match of my life. And despite the mess of the day, I fought with the most clarity and focus and commitment that I’ve ever had.

Despite the day feeling like an epic fail, I persevered.

Persevere When Your Plans Fail

I’m not saying everything will always work out. That tournament could have ended differently. I could have bombed every division. Got slaughtered in that sparring match. It could absolutely have gone that way.

But the important thing: I rolled with it. Despite my best-laid plans, it all went to sh$t. But I didn’t give up. I pushed through.

Failure is Not a Certainty

So, okay. This week’s video is probably not going to be my best. Hammer sounds don’t make for an ideal soundtrack. There is the chance that it will be my worst video ever.

But failure is not certain. But you know what is? It would absolutely be a failure if I chose not to film at all. That tournament would—without a doubt—have been my absolute worst if I had given up.

It Could Be Your Best Effort Ever

Make that plan, but don’t give up when it falls apart. You can still get value from that experience.

It’s not a guaranteed failure unless you give up.

And you never know. It could end up being your best effort ever.

Is there something you’re putting off because of fear of failure? What if you went ahead with it—despite that fear—and it all worked out?

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