Ever since we're young, we're told that we need to shoot for the moon, strive for greatness, and settle for nothing short of the best. The standard is so far above mediocrity, it's almost like we're being conditioned to accept success and nothing but success. But what happens when we start to chase more and more of our dreams, and fall short? How do we deal with the embarrassment of being a human being who has flaws and inevitably messes up? Up until recently, I had always viewed failure as something that was necessary to growth, but not ideal. One day, I was listening to a podcast where the host of the podcast (David) was talking to a business owner (Tristen) about the process of starting and continuing to run a successful business. The topic of failure- more specifically, embracing failure- came up, and the conversation basically centered around ways to handle failure well. One of the habits they discussed that struck me was writing down a failure from that day or that week, and then acknowledging the lesson that was learned from that failure. My first reaction to hearing that was basically "what the crap? If I'm giving failure so much positive attention, won't that just make me look forward to that more than the successes? Shouldn't I just be counting the wins?" After I thought about it though, being able to look forward to and appreciate failures is (for lack of a better term) such a power move. Nobody has ever attempted anything and done it perfectly the whole time, so it will serve you better to know what to expect, and even to invite the disappointment in because it can be used to foster growth and positive change. Towards the end of this month and as we go into 2021, I'm looking to shift my mindset- instead of looking at my goals in terms of what I can succeed at, I'm going to strive to find the attempt- even the failed ones. Even if I don't lift the amount I want at the gym by next December or take as many pictures or save as much money as I want, at least I can say I went for it. It's a lot more disheartening to look back on all of your efforts and see no achievements-- so by transforming the effort itself into the achievement and the obstacles into opportunities, it's possible to keep a positive mentality and a strong work ethic despite the circumstances that may hinder what you normally consider growth.