Frostwritten

My apartment complex is across the street from a chiropractor. It has one of those signs out front with the interchangeable letters, and every few weeks or so, there’s a new message there.

I usually don’t notice it, even though I drive past it every day. But today, I was waiting to turn onto the pike, and the sign snared my attention.

It said: F.A.I.L. First attempt in learning.

I felt it, instantly. A lightning bolt. Failure is one of my biggest fears. It’s a fear that keeps me from attempting things, from trying, from chasing my dreams, from pursuing anything better. A whiff of failure, and I instantly assume it is better not to bother trying in the first place.

But to look at failure in that way – as a first attempt in learning – is a perspective I’ve not considered before. It’s kind of an offshoot of “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again,” with an emphasis on learning from the first attempt. That a step backward does not mean the path ahead is lost forever.

Perhaps I should stop to read such signs more often – safely, of course.