I Failed My Test

Let’s be real: The path to excellence is filled with glorious flops, dumpster fires, crashouts, and getting nerfed. Reaching a goal is almost never straightforward or easy - and if it was, it was probably a boring goal anyway. (See the first image below.)

I’m an early 2000’s kid and a firstborn child. I grew up in the era of Nickelodeon, gold stars for everyone, curly phone cords, 110% Awards, Britney Spears, and AOL Instant Messenger (BRB, TTYL, G2G calculate how old I am…). As the oldest daughter, I also grew up cautious, rule-following, and perfectionistic. (See the second image below.)

The result: I developed a crippling fear of failing. It was terrifying to potentially get something wrong.

Enter my 30s. After having my daughter and experiencing perceived failure on a moment-by-moment basis through parenting, I had a personal transformation: I started to see how awesome failing can be. Being a middle school teacher reinforced this lesson. I would estimate that roughly 37% of my plans actually go as outlined. Honestly, that makes for a hilarious day of learning and a classroom where kids have a safe place to take risks, fail, adjust, and try again tomorrow. (See the third image below.)

When you fail often enough, you learn how easy it is to get back up and try a different way.

Over the past year, I’ve experienced failure in a very physical way. I’m attempting to earn a difficult weightlifting instructor certification that requires mastery of seven very specific skills. I’ve been training for a year and have only one skill left to master - the one thing standing between me and certification. Despite multiple expert coaches and strength-training programs over the past 12 months, this skill has become my white whale. I have not conquered it. (See the fourth image below.)

Am I giving up? No way.

I’m getting feistier, significantly stronger, and more mentally and physically resilient than I was before. Because I’ve failed my test (many times), I’m watching myself become a stronger version of myself than I might have been if I’d passed it on the first try.

So here’s my challenge for you: At the end of every day, ask yourself, “What did I fail at today?” Whatever the answer is, celebrate it. You’re tougher than you were yesterday and you have a way cooler story to tell. The path to excellence should be riddled with metaphorical face plants. (See the fifth image below.)

Anyway, time for me to go AFK and put on an away message. C U L8R.

~~<3~**<<< MrS. aDaMs >>>**~<3~~

Captions for Images Below:

Image One: Me in 1992. A bowl cut AND that couch? Fail.

Image Two: Me in 7th grade. Perm AND braces AND bangs in 2001? Fail.

Image Three: Locking myself and my daughter out of the house and having to wait for someone to let us in? Fail. Side note: Could this be the first documented sighting of Emma saying, “Clock it”? 🤔

Image Four: A closing clip from one of my many video submissions recording my attempt at passing my last weight training skill. Definitely failed this one. (But that hair? *Chef’s kiss*).

Image Five: My brother and I at the summit of Mt. Langley in California. A day full of blisters, not enough snacks, and the worst altitude sickness I’ve ever experienced. So many fails and reasons to turn around, but ultimately a win. ♥️

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