Fail Fail Again Fail Better by Pema Chodron

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown by Pema Chodron is based on the text of a lecture and the subsequent interview digging deeper into the topic of failure. Fear of failure causes us to pull back from stretching and growing.

At our 50th Anniversary Minnesota 4-H Ambassador Reunion one of the 4-H leaders Brenda Shafer described 4-H as a safe place to fail and fail again. By taking risks and failing we can grow and get better. One of the mottos of 4-H is to make the best better this occurs because we risk failure. 

Pema talks about not letting external circumstances control levels of happiness. Events initially viewed either positively or negatively often may later be seen to be to be the exact opposite as circumstances change  She encourages us to be comfortable with ambiguity and to not force judgment.

She notes that out of a painful and vulnerable experience of failure ugly things such as addiction, violence, self destructive behavior can emerge. In others, courage, compassion and kindness are brought out. We can use these painful spaces as an area of self assessment and change.

Fail Again - 1 min.

Ugly Things - 1 min.