There is a magnificent quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled, Success. I found it many moons ago, had it printed and laminated, then stuck on the toilet wall for my children to read and absorb.
Now the mirror to success is failure. And it is so easy to fear failure.
What is failure?
To wallow in history, and relegate your identity to the past.
To basque in your miseries, like the rays of a glorious sunrise.
To seek life’s shadows and neglect the light.
To silence mistakes, with shame or remorse, and overlook the lessons proffered.
To fear reflection from inside or out, and cast aspersion upon the critic’s review.
To lose sight of contentment, in the simple gifts of the every day.
To abandon the search for the dream you seek.
This is to have failed.