Failure

Once upon a time I was a perfectionist. Shocking I know. Some of you who know me are reading this and saying "wait a minute, she's still a perfectionist." Yes, in some ways that is true, but I want to share a lesson I've learned about failure along the way.

I grew up striving for perfection, excellence, and success. I loathed mistakes and screwing up. But that didn't stop me from making mistakes. Instead I would wallow in my failure and beat myself up. I can still remember failing my cpr test in college, walking back to my dorm room and throwing myself on my bed and sobbing in dispair. Dramatic, right? Why do we think going away to college at 18 years old makes us adults? It doesn't. I was still a child. And in some ways I still am. Nearing 30 and I still have trouble remembering I'm an adult. But I digress.

I've even turned down opportunities to try new things just because I knew I would fail. Water skiing, rock climbing, social gatherings (yes I fail at social interaction a lot!).

Through the obstacles opportunities God has placed in my path I have learned a lot. I have learned that I am not perfect and thank God for that! Who wants to be perfect? I have learned that it's the process that counts, not the end product. Sewing has been the best outlet for me to learn about failure. It is one of the very few activities that I have perservered in, even though when I started I failed a lot. I still fail today. But it's not the end of the world. I carved out time to sew and create and that's what matters.

So today I would like to introduce you to some fails. I had fun making them and trying new things with them, but they aren't etsy shop worthy. It's okay though. They've helped me learn what to do better next time. Thanks fails.

How about you? What fails have you learned from and now embrace?