Failures by Whitney Vaughan
Something You may be Familiar with…Failure.
Goals. We set them. We make a plan, sometimes with the help from others, and then work towards that goal taking every proper step along the way to reach it, and when we do…man! It feels good. Let me ask you this. Have you ever worked so hard for a goal in your life. You finally reach it. Then you tried to accomplish it again, and you failed? How did you react?
Have you ever tried to cover up a failure with a success?
I’d like to share a story with you about my recent experience with this very thing…failure. Recently, I finally got my first muscle up after being back in CrossFit for over two years. Essentially, it’s like a pull up in which you lift your entire upper body over the chin up bar. I had worked on that particular movement for over four months. (Which by the way, in the CF community, accomplishing a muscle up is like winning the super bowl!) I was beyond excited to be on top of that bar that I even teared up. My CrossFit family celebrated with me, gave me high fives, and cheered me on for my success.
Shortly after that, the muscle up movement was posted in another workout. Seeing the muscle up on the workout gave me anxiety. I was scared that I would get to it and not be able to accomplish the move this time again, after I had already been congratulated by my friends and had posted it online. I questioned the idea that maybe my earlier success was pure luck. I doubted myself immediately. I was even more afraid and embarrassed to think about others watching me fail. So how did I react? I talked myself into doing the workout at a time where I would be alone just in case I did fail, and people wouldn’t see me. What happened? I failed. In fact, this time I even got my camera ready to video myself so that I could show it off the success. I attempt the muscle up…four times! Four failures.
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But here’s where things get worse. I didn’t own my failure. Actually, later in the day, I did what we all do sometimes…hide behind what we are good at so that we don’t have to face or talk about what we’re struggling with. I posted a story on Instagram of a lift I did earlier in the workout that was good for me. A personal record, actually.
How often do we, instead of facing our failures with our peers, hide behind things we are good at and showcase only our strengths to others in our lives?
For me, in that moment, instead of embracing the idea that it’s okay to fail and that every day isn’t going to be perfect, I hid behind a success. I know now that I could have, should have shown up at my normal workout class with my CrossFit family and close friends and put in the work, success or failure.
Here’s what I came to relieve. Sometimes we fail. Often we fall short of the goals we are trying to accomplish. But, we cannot hide from failure. We must embrace it! Learn from it, and use it as motivation to keep working! And guess what, the people that are in your corner cheering you on when you succeed will also be the people cheering you on when you fail. They will be the ones helping you up and helping you move towards success again.
Do you feel like you are failing at your health goals? How long are you going to do this alone? I would love to help you, and be there for you through not only your successes but your failures as well. Let’s work together. Let’s not cover up and filter out all the imperfections, shortcomings, and failures we face. Let’s push until we are all on top of the bar.
Message me or visit my website (fit-whit.com) and let’s work together to reach any goals you may have.
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