Kells Blogpost - Go Forth and Fail
/
I recently heard an interesting interview with a guy by the name of Howard Chang. What he discussed resonated with me so much that I had to share it with our community…
Chang is the CEO of a successful Canadian advertising agency. He is also an entrepreneur, an author, an endurance athlete, a martial arts champion, and was just named one of the 50 most progressive people in Canada.
What a loser.
No really, I mean it. What makes Chang interesting is not his resume; it is his long list of losses and his approach to failure. He actually seeks out failure, as evidenced by his leaving the sport of competitive karate at age 17 because he had already become a national champion. The sport had become “too easy” for him, and the challenge was gone.
What did he do from there? He switched over to endurance racing, a sport he had absolutely zero affinity towards. He was not good. He might not have completely stunk, but he was pretty close. He raced often and he lost almost every time.
...until he didn’t. He worked is butt off and he got better, until he ultimately started placing in/winning high profile races.
What Chang’s actions teach us is something profound, and something that is incredibly lacking in our society today:
Not only is it ok to lose, you should actively put yourself in situations where failure is probable, if not guaranteed to some degree. Why??? Because that is where growth happens, plain and simple.
Be a loser, friends. There is incredible value in it.
Consider these facts: The average millionaire will go bankrupt at least two times (Chang included; he made his first million at 22, went bankrupt at 30, and then came back stronger than before). JK Rowling's Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by a dozen publishers over the course of a year before someone gave her a chance. Michael Jordan had his (unsuccessful) swing at baseball. Apple fired Steve Jobs for being an unreasonable, ambitious prick.
Look around. The most successful people in the world are ok with stepping outside of their comfort zone and taking chances.
“But what if I fail? What will other people think?”.
Fuck ‘em. To quote the great Lester Bangs, “You’ll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.”
Now…what does this have to do with CrossFit? Everything!! As a coach, there is nothing cooler than having someone who is successful in another walk of life (business professional, teacher, super-mom, etc), and they completely resign themselves to the process. They’ve never done CrossFit, and know that they will not be proficient at it right away. Why? Because nobody is! Not one person can rip off 200 double unders in a row or perform a heavy squat snatch without ever having done them before. It just doesn’t happen that way, even though it is in our nature to want to be good NOW.
But the people I’m talking about get the fact that they’re going to have to not be good at something for a little while. They are OK with it. They do not feel foolish or silly learning something new, because they know that the long game is ultimately growth. This attitude is pervasive throughout CFK, and is an ideal mindset for all of us to continue to strive for.
And by the way? This approach is physiologically good for us. It literally makes our brains grow. When we learn something new at the age of 30, 40, 50, 85, whatever, the neural pathways change in our brains. This is called “neuroplasticity”, and it is the literal changing and growing of our brains based on behavior, emotion and thought. This is an extremely real and very positive occurrence.
All of this stems from an idea that we are always discussing at the Kells: Comfort Zone. The more you take yourself out of yours, the better you will become…period.
So what can you do right now? Couple ideas:
· Start at the gym…and miss a lift. Go for a heavy lift. Maybe you dump it, maybe you don’t. But work with your coaches to determine a threshold-pushing strategy. Unsuccessful attempts done in a smart, safe way will lead to growth. Know your limitations, yes…and then push them in a safe way
· Sign up for an endurance race, obstacle race, martial arts class, art class, or anything else that might interest you that you haven’t tried yet
· Email three people in a field that interests you and ask them a pointed, smart question. Do some research, provide value to them, begin a dialogue, and see where it goes
· Ask for 10% off of your next cup of coffee. For no reason. This is a fun one that is harder than it appears
· Write a business plan for that business that’s been kicking around your head. Start page one tonight
The point is to take convention and turn it on its ear. Consider any boundaries you have placed on your life, fitness, work or relationships and smash them, if only for a day. Get comfortable with that discomfort and rejection.
And if you fail at every one of those things?
Congratulations.
You are now better than you were before.