Failing My Way to Success

     As the New Year gets underway, everyone is trying to improve themselves into perfection. I am all for improvement, but it seems like my imperfections have given me my greatest successes. Is perfection all that it’s cracked up to be?

     I am a perfectionist.  I like everything and everyone to be punctual, to run smoothly, and to be presentable. The older I get, the more I realize this isn’t how life works. Accidents happen and people run late. It’s how you deal with setbacks that make all the difference. Last year, quite a few things didn’t go as planned. I lost clients from my business for various reasons. I even had a relationship that only lasted a month and a half. I remember being disappointed by both. I began to wonder if I was good at PR. I started to think maybe rushing into a relationship was born out of me wanting to share my successes with. My life was far from perfect. Despite these things, I forged ahead, praying the sun was shining over the horizon.

     Out of those two “failures”, two of the most amazing things happened. Despite the loss of some of my clients, I landed a client, who after winning both the primary and general elections, is now a state representative.  The fleeting romantic relationship taught me to take my time. I also learned that quitting while you’re ahead isn’t the same as quitting. He was overly combative and felt that a romantic partnership was really a dictatorship, where he was the leader. Even though the relationship was brief, I had nothing to feel bad about. I recognized the iceberg about to hit the boat and I saved myself. I like my mistakes to be short lived.

Though life may not be perfect and full of “failures”, our successes usually come from these experiences. As imperfect creatures, expecting perfection 100% of the time is a futile cause. Strive for perfection, but remember that maybe failure is meant to teach a lesson that will lead to success.