How being honest about the process of ‘becoming’ leads to success 

Failure is a natural part of growing.

[Source Photo: Freepik]

The great jazz trumpeter Miles Davis once said, “Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” This is why the best artists are not only masterful at their craft but also distinctive in their voice; they’ve committed themselves to the process of being themselves. Subsequently, this means they committed themselves to the failure that comes along with it also. But that’s the part no one talks about—the work required to “become” who we are or, better yet, who we want to be. It’s as if we’re expected to go to the gym and walk out with a six-pack. That’s not how the gym works, nor is it how work works. And we know this. There’s a process to becoming, and that process inherently requires failure.

Be that as it may, there are no LinkedIn claps reserved for failing. There are no at-a-boys for coming up short, despite the reality that we’ve all experienced failure to get to where we are. But of course, failure is just a natural part of the process of becoming. So why do we omit this truth from our stories when we tell the tale of becoming ourselves? Why do we whitewash the parts that aren’t so flattering and “yada yada yada” our narratives to a flatten expression of self. I get the fact that no one wants to fail, let alone admit to it. However, I also realize........

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