How to Fail like a Champ!!

Here is some very simple, but true advice, it is okay to fail. Yes, I like to be good at everything, and no, I am not talking about a huge, life-altering failure. I'm talking about failure with a lower case "f".

Yesterday, like many days, I failed. I ate too much and too often (including way too many caramel m&ms), I misspoke at a parent meeting, and I made a subtraction mistake in front of a classroom full of 4th graders. And those are just the ones that I remember! All of these things were failures, but none of them derailed my day in the least. Small failures are learning experiences, they show us areas for improvement and if we are open to those improvements, life goes on (and the same mistakes are less likely in the future).

When I felt terrible about the food that I ate, I didn't hate myself. I shared how I was feeling with my husband the ladies in my FASTer Way to Fat Loss group and I bounced back. Today, I didn't feel guilty and I made healthier choices. When I used the wrong term for a level of intervention in a parent meeting, one of my teammates corrected the mistake (without making me look stupid) and now I will know the correct terminology at the next meeting. Finally, I was guest teaching in a 4th grade class and we were working on subtracting fractions, and in front of the class I solved this problem:

42-24= 22 (oops) For the mathematically challenged it is actually 18!

So the class went along with me for a few moments, until a few intrepid souls raised their hands to ask if it was possible that I was wrong. And my answer, "of course it's possible!", everyone makes mistakes and everyone fails, but it's what you do next that matters. So next, I had some 4th graders explain how they thought I made my mistake and what might have caused it (the consensus was that I went too quickly), and then we moved on. Adults mess up, kids mess up, so if you mess up - just take a breath, learn from it, and try again!