Courage to Fail

It takes a good healthy ego (not to be confused with a big ego) to be able to try something hard and fail. Healthy ego is a good thing in psychology because it can tolerate discomfort. In the beginning, throwing practice involves many failed attempts. That’s the only way we learn. We must learn how to fail without making it a statement of who we are. Everyone fails. Failure is not only OK, it's necessary. Children do this well. Adults, not so much. The potential for improvement remains locked up when we’re hanging on to pots for dear life and trying not to fail. Learning to master new skills, our heads and bodies slowly coordinate and come together. It’s like learning to play an instrument or swing a bat. It's not easy, and takes passion. People who get good at it are the ones who are willing to fail.