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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

existing in suck-dom

failure.

we all try to avoid it, no? i mean, what's worse? other than a both ends stomach flu, broken hearts, and i dunno, audits.

this past week? i failed big time.

i did this event at the club. it was supposed to be a joint effort until the person the effort was jointed with made a swift exit. suddenly, it was a corrie effort. now granted, i've rallied a neighborhood to revitalize, i've convinced a bunch of jaded servers to chip in for a restaurant owner's christmas gift (never again), but all that is nothing in comparison with organizing a NYC nightlife event.

and accordingly? i SUCKED.

the week leading up to the event was pure stress. would people come? had i bought that? called them? taken such and such into consideration? no, no and um, holy crap, i didn't even think of that, no! repeatedly, i was told it was okay to cancel the event as, clearly, it was going to tank. (it is an extreme gift of generosity that my club allowed me to proceed knowing this. i really am a lucky girl.)

and fail the event did. by club standards? hugely.

the one mollifying factor was that every person at the event (all four of them) had a terrific time. the room didn't look that bad, and i kept thinking, wow, i know we're losing gobs of money right now - because of me - but this is perhaps one of the coolest things i've ever seen. (helloooo all female drumming corp)



so what am i saying?

don't fail. don't try to make that contact. don't take that new class. don't apply for or accept that job you aren't quite qualified for. take my word for it, failure frickin' sucks.

stay safe. because before you get good at new tasks, usually you're awful at them first. so let someone else sweat it. let them lose the sleep and feel so stressed out they can't form proper sentences. let someone else have the stories and the experiences.

but then be prepared to let them have the successes that might come out of it. allow them the fierce pride that comes from knowing that they tried. and that because they did, their backbone is just a teeny bit stronger. that because they failed, they possess a bit more of a "why the hell not" attitude about that next unconquerable task. risk letting them, not you, see the coolest thing in the world. (helloooo your version of an all female drumming corp).

you know. no pressure. the choice is yours: fail or don't. life goes on either way. got that? either way. you're right back here tomorrow.

i dunno. let me know what you decide. most likely, i'll be over here in the: damn, girl, what were you thinking? camp.

1 comment:

  1. Hang in there, Corrie. You are brilliant, hard working, and charming as they come. Don't let failures stop you. Just learn from them. Move on. Adjust. Do it a little different next time.

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