Practising Failure

"Those who don't try never look foolish"

This writer has long been fascinated by the fear of failure so prevalent in our modern society. How, dear reader, have we come so far from our Victorian, fearless forefathers? Our ancestors seemed happy to try new things. Yes, the results were often disastrous, but the successes are still with us today. So how is it that we now fear the thought of failure? How is it that the only stories told are those of garage originating multinationals? Why do we buy into the fairy tales?

This writer proposes a different approach.

Let us embrace failure. Because without failure there is no success. Think, dear reader, of quotes from the likes of Edison, Chanel, and Angelou. They beg us to remember that they "have not failed, merely found 10,000 ways that did not work." That it is pointless to "spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door." And that "it may be necessary to encounter defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it."

If, dear reader, historical figures are not your preferred source of inspiration think then of the literary characters who were forced to face failure before finding their path to success. Elizabeth Bennet had to make the mistake of dismissing Mr Darcy in order to realise she loved him. Or, if you like, Mr Darcy had to fail in his proposal in order to realise the results of his pride.

Fear not, dear reader, this writer recognizes that we live neither in the past or in a work of fiction. That in life failures have real and sometimes dire consequences. That is why this writer is looking for spaces where it is safe to fail. The equivalent of an experimental padded room or societal safety net. Not only is this writer looking for spaces such as these but is creating them as well.

With the launch of The Garage: Bay 2, this writer is encouraging artists to experiment, to try something new, and yes, to fail. Because it is not "those who don't try" who never look foolish. It is "those who don't try" who will never free themselves of their fear of failure and its power to freeze potential.

So go fourth, dear reader, and fail. Fearlessly.