Why You Should Try to Fail
A short guide to seeking failure in training and in life.
Over the past few weeks, the concept of “investing in loss” has come across my proverbial desk more than once.
Through a few podcasts, as well as my YouTube and Instagram algorithms, I’ve seen this idea pop up quite a bit.
And it got me thinking.
I thought a lot about the “what” and “why” of trying to face failure, but I also pondered over what it meant to me individually.
I’ll get into why I think everyone should do this regardless of whether you train or not, but for now I’ll explore how I’ve used this concept in my own life.
Getting beat up.
For as long as I’ve been training, I always looked for the hardest ways to do things. Rolling with the toughest training partners, squeezing in an extra run in the early morning and after practice, or obsessing over the most difficult techniques I picked up from watching matches, UFC, or my coaches and training partners.
I’m not sure if I picked up this characteristic or if it was innate, but I somehow knew that to get better at something you had to do things the hard way.
I understood that being bad was just a starting condition and that the end goal of being “good” just came with time.
It didn’t matter how many rounds I lost or how many times I got tapped out; I wholeheartedly believed I would win eventually. Not because I thought I was anything special, but because I believed in the process.
Daily work combined with a high degree of effort, would equal greater gains.
I loved this process, even when I was continually getting my ass kicked.
The failure helped keep me humble. I was eager to improve, and after a while, I started to do well in both training and competition. It felt like my rate of improvement was exponential because I constantly put myself in positions to learn from my mistakes. One step backward became two steps forward.
I can’t say I never got frustrated, and there were certainly many bumps in the road, but seeking failure got me to a place where I didn’t care whether I had a bad training day or a great training day, I was going to get better and find success regardless.
Try something different.
If you’re at a level where you feel you’re comfortable against most people you train with, start trying new techniques.
You could just use your A-game and get tapped less often in training, but two things would happen as a result:
You wouldn’t get any better
You’d still lose in training
So why not try new things anyway? And then embrace failure as a means to reach a better version of yourself.
This method will allow you to improve more while teaching you that failure means very little in the long run.
Applying this to competition.
This is where the stakes get much higher, and you WILL have to set your ego aside for this step.
Chasing failure while others are watching is by far the hardest part of this process, but a necessary one if you want to maximize your gains.
When I was trying to get good at competing, I did as many competitions as I possibly could. I didn’t care about winning or losing, I just wanted to gain experience. And lose a lot, I certainly did.
Over and over, I would win and lose with no clear sign of consistency.
You certainly would not have watched me and thought “That guy will definitely be one of the top grapplers in the world someday.” But you absolutely would have thought, “Man, that kid has heart.”
It was clear that I wasn’t the best, but it was also clear that I was trying my best.
That should be everyone’s goal when seeking to improve at something. Not looking for the easy wins; looking for failure.
Look for the most difficult challenges presented to you at any given time, and just try your hardest. Whether you succeed or not, learn from what happens. Take data points and apply them to your training and mindset afterward.
Why we should all try to fail.
Whether you train or not, there is something to learn from failure.
Trying a new hobby means you will likely suck at first, and you will probably even look dumb doing it. But the enrichment you get from adding a new skill and/or passion to your life far outweighs the short-term discomfort.
To take it a step further, you should go for that thing that scares you.
A new job, starting a business, asking out that girl you like, etc.
Whatever it is, don’t be afraid of what failure will do to you in the short term. Play the long game, and focus on learning from whatever challenges are presented to you as a result of trying something where success is not guaranteed.
This could even open up a host of new opportunities for you while providing you with valuable experiences.
I think life is more interesting when we take chances and shoot for uncertain things.
Closing thoughts
This long-term strategy of actively seeking failure will help you reach your goals quicker while giving you more confidence because you will know you did things the hard way.
No lying to yourself, no hiding, and no playing it safe.
This is how you will unlock your greatest self while caring less about what others think. You will know you put your all into something regardless of how many failures you encounter along the way.
💯 🙏🏾👊🏾