Why It’s Okay to Fail

FAILURE.

It is such a scary word. But what makes it scary? What is it about the word “failure” that makes us cringe when we hear it? 

Well, let’s face it. The word failure itself means a lack of success. And for an entrepreneur like myself, the last thing I want is to be unsuccessful at anything I do. As an entrepreneur, you go through these crazy obstacles so that you can be successful. You have your wins and have your losses. You hit your milestones but made your mistakes along the way. 

To be completely honest, before a couple months ago, I was SO afraid of failing. Why?

EASY. 

I’m a stay at home mom trying to run a full-time business during nap times. I was overwhelmed to the point of throwing in the towel and giving up my dream of making photography my career. But then it hit me. The last thing I want is to be considered a “failure.” So after thinking about it long and hard, I came to a realization...

FAILURE IS A MINDSET

What I didn’t realize at that time, is that no one was considering me as a failure. All that everyone saw was a girl trying to run her own photography business. No one, other than my husband, saw the number of hours I plugged away creating content, editing, and making my website look all fancy. 

Failure is a mindset. You control whether or not you want to be considered a failure.

Have you ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If you think you are going to be successful and work hard towards it you will be successful. That goes with failure too. It’s important to remember that you need to keep pushing along, even if you feel like you are or going to be a failure. But I promise you, you are not.

DON’T FEEL DEFEATED BY SETBACKS…

Setbacks, oh goodness where do I start? The best way I can describe this is by giving you an example. For instance, think of it like you are driving to get groceries another town away. There is a traffic jam on the highway, so it is taking a little bit longer to get to the grocery store. That is a setback, not a failure. Setbacks are nothing more than a “traffic jam” that takes a little bit longer than you thought it would get where you are going. But in the end, just like a traffic jam, it clears up, and you get back on the road! Don’t feel defeated by a setback, it does not mean you are a failure.

MISTAKES ARE NOT FAILING. MISTAKES ARE JUST THAT, MISTAKES

I promise you, you are going to make mistakes along the way. It is inevitable and bound to happen. Back to the driving example, you took a wrong turn, you made a mistake. That’s totally ok because you can take a U-turn or K-turn, turn back around and get back to where you are going! Sometimes when you made that wrong turn, you drove quite a bit before you realized you took a wrong turn. But like I said, that is OK! It is just a mistake. Mistakes are not failing. Mistakes are just that, mistakes. At the end of the day, you learn from those mistakes and move on.

IT IS OKAY TO FAIL

So the project you were working on end up being unsuccessful. You put all of this work and effort into something that didn’t pay off. It’s rough, especially when you put your whole heart and soul into it. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It is OKAY to fail.

LET ME REPEAT THAT AGAIN, IT IS OKAY TO FAIL.

Why?

Because opportunities stem from failure and that is when the real growth happens. There are always going to be setbacks and mistakes, but you will ALWAYS find your way around it. Those are not defeats, and you are NOT a failure. 

I could probably go on for days talking about this subject. But I’ll keep this ending short and sweet for you.

Everything is going to be okay. On this entrepreneurial journey, you’ll have setbacks, you’ll have mistakes, and sometimes be unsuccessful. Oh, but you will thrive.

Those setbacks, mistakes, and failures are nothing more fuel that will fire your drive to be the best that you can be. You will push through it all, and will truly be successful.

Brianne Hultzman is the creative genius behind Brianne Hultman Photography, a photography studio specializing in weddings, maternity, and couples that serves Western and Upstate, NY. Growing up, Brianne always had a point and shoot camera by her side so that she would never miss a moment of what was going on around her. Nowadays, things haven't changed a whole lot! She turned her hobby into a profession in 2016 and has never looked back! 

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