Fall Forward

“If you can't fly then run, If you can't run then walk,
If you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do
you have to keep moving forward.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

The above mentioned popular motivational quote is often used to say that no matter what happens in life, we have to keep progressing in life.

I happened to listen to a podcast by Mr. Denzel Washington on the topic, “Fall Forward”, which I felt was in alignment to this and it also revealed some insightful thoughts, of how achievers tend to look into failure, from a different dimension.

I’m sure many of you have heard this advice from people who are concerned about you “Make sure you have something to fall back on.” This is used to say, that even if you are going to risk something and lose, still be sure that you have some resources to fall back upon.

But, Denzel Washington says, I don’t want to fall back on anything except my faith. I want to fall forward. I figure at least this way; I’ll see what I’m going to hit. He adds, “I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.”

Nelson Mandela said, “There is no passion to be found, playing small and settling for a life that’s less than the one you’re capable of living.”

Les Brown who is a motivational speaker, has an interesting analogy about this. He says, “Imagine you’re on your deathbed, and standing around your deathbed are the ghosts representing your unfulfilled potential, the ghost of the ideas you never acted on, the ghost of the talents you didn’t use. And they’re standing around your bed, angry, disappointed, and upset. They say, ‘We came to you because you could have brought us to life,’ they say. ‘And now we have to go to the grave together.'”

One another quote we often hear is “Failure is the steppingstone to success”. The example often quoted is the famous inventor of the incandescent light bulb, Thomas Alva Edison. He failed a number of times, before he could invent the light bulb, but he did not allow those failures to deter his spirit, until he finally invented the bulb. When asked about how he had so much of endurance and confidence, he said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” His statement reveals that when someone looks at his failure as a learning, he will not fear it or get demotivated by it, but rather he will start to explore new methods of doing something.

Many exemplary stories of exceptionally successful people has been of those who embraced his philosophy of "Do or Die".  Life is full of risks, and it is the risk takers who make great accomplishments.

The Samurai Warriors of Japan are known for their exceptional courage. One of the strategies, they follow when they go to conquer a new land or territory, was to burn the bridges in which they came. It puts them in a “Do or Die” situation. When they wilfully put themselves in such a situation, the only option they have is to win or get killed.

The Fall-back philosophy says, “Lose little, rather than lose it all”, whereas the Fall Forward, philosophy is a bolder approach, which is similar to “Win it all or lose it all”. So, these are 2 extreme statements, and each has its own set of justification.

From my perspective, I am not against the idea of having a fall back. However, I also think, we shouldn't become over reliant on the fall back. It is because, most of the time it is the fall back that holds us back. Our fall back becomes our comfort zone, which curtails our ability to take risks. So, we need to stretch out of our comfort zone, with little caution.

Have you seen the bar swingers, at the Circus? They are able to perform the awesome fete, so fearlessly because they know if they fall, there is a big net below to catch. 

My approach would be similar to that, "Play hard, yet have a safety net."

 

   D. Senthil Kannan,

  CEO, PALMS Training & Consulting (P) Ltd., Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com