BWW Blog: Embrace Failure

Recently, while browsing Backstage.com casting calls, I came across a film/TV acting masterclass with an associate of my all-time favorite casting director.

Immediately, at the thought of signing up, my heart began to race and I heard thoughts that weren't my own: "You can't do that. You'll fail. And make a fool out of yourself."

I sat there for a moment, and for the first time, asked myself: "Why is failure a bad thing?"

The answer?

It's not.

It's a good thing.

In fact, it's an amazing thing.

Think about it... if we're perfect immediately at everything we try, wouldn't life be ridiculously boring? Perhaps our life's purpose is to find something we enjoy failing at... over and over and over... because without failure, you will have no idea what works and what doesn't.

That voice again. "You have no idea what you're doing." Yes, but who does? Does anyone truly know what they're doing? If you did always know what you were doing, then what would be the point of anything? Being "all-knowing" sounds quite uninteresting, and accomplishments would give no satisfaction without the struggle to achieve them.

I stared at the sign up link, and then asked myself another question: "If I fail spectacularly, what will happen?" Will the sky collapse in on itself? No. Will I lose everything I know and everyone I love? Also no. The worst that will happen is, in reality, not too bad: nothing will be lost, and I will be exactly where I was before the failure. So, in that regard, who cares?! There is literally nothing to lose!

The joy in the process, not the destination, is what makes our work much more meaningful. Perhaps if our goal becomes to fail rather than to be perfect right out of the gate - we will yield infinitely better results and products.

Why? When you allow yourself to start where you are and not be ashamed (even if your product is terrible!) then you allow yourself the space for growth and learning. In a "perfection" mindset, you can't become better... because when you're "perfect", where is there to go if you are immediately at your destination?

As artists, we are kids at heart that love to play pretend. Kids don't care about how they look, or what others think of them when they play make believe; they only care about making themselves and others smile (and sometimes laugh at the silliness!) with the act. Perhaps, in this regard, we should welcome the role of "making a fool out of yourself". When you embrace failure in your art, you begin to get a little bit better every day.

So, when you look failure in the face again and again, don't be afraid. Instead, take it in a warm embrace and tell it this: "Hello, old friend! Great to see you again. Now, let's do this together."