Failure is Not a Final Destination

by Aimee Wojtowecz

Who do you know that seems to be bulletproof? You know, that friend of yours that takes failures in stride and is always smiling and moving forward in life. How do they do it? You know they’re not immune to setbacks or hardship. They just seem to be able to bounce back quickly. Life’s inevitable difficulties don’t keep them from living the life they want.

By the way, that person can be you. Mental resilience is something that can be developed. It’s not a character trait you have to be born with. Every time you suffer some type of loss or failure, you have an opportunity to respond with resilience and emotional control.

In CrossFit, we train, persevere, and progress together. We build strong local communities that drive unparalleled progress and a deep sense of belonging. For the millions out there who have experienced the transformative power of doing hard things together and the unwavering support of community, CrossFit is a match struck in the dark.

We understand how this applies in the gym, but how does this apply to real life? How can you start changing that inner narrative? Never look at a failure as the final result. Don’t let some hardship or difficulty be the final chapter in your story. Or, as famous author F. Scott Fitzgerald said …

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.”

That is such a powerful reminder that your outlook is everything. The person with resilience chooses a positive outlook even when that seems impossible. They understand that negative things are going to happen in their life yet they don’t allow that to be the end of their journey.

They don’t embrace any single failure or loss as the final declaration of who they are. So what if you fail a movement or a weight, this doesn’t change who you are or your value to society. 

Resilience means persisting. You keep going. You push forward and see life’s difficulties as nothing more than challenges. You can either become stronger and more capable or allow a defeat or failure to be a statement of who you are.

This can seem like simple advice, but the truth is, sometimes, the hardship we encounter in life can be truly debilitating. We simply don’t see a way out. The worst of possible things has happened, and there’s simply no way that we see any good coming from this.

When this happens, as it inevitably will in life, just take one step forward.

Don’t worry about some big end result. You may be in a terrible situation. If you are, just make one positive movement. 

Have one positive thought. Move in the direction of a positive outcome. Even if it’s miles away, don’t worry about that end result. Just take the first step that moves you a little bit away from the difficulty you encountered.

Never let any single defeat be your final defeat. The instant you decide to relentlessly push forward, you show the world and yourself that you are a resilient human being. You won’t be kept down for long because your unbreakable mental resolve won’t allow you to be defined by defeat.

And if you have yet to experience the magic of CrossFit, we invite you to join us. Build your resiliency inside the gym and see how that can change your life outside the gym.