Faith from Failure

I didn't email last week's blog posting because it was a report of bad news.

Usually, I have something uplifting and encouraging  to say. I want to be about motivating us to create a healthy lifestyle by incorporating our highest ideals, enlisting our faith, living out our best affirmations.  Last week, I learned that for my own health-related research project, all of that uplift goes up in smoke,  in the face of preparing for midterm exams.

As you may recall, the research project attempts to introduce a healthy lifestyle modification to HBCU students. We are trying to incorporate a change in bad health habits by taking on three tiny healthy habits per week. A few weeks ago, I introduced you to Summer Davis, one of my undergraduate research assistants. She is joined by 4 other on the team and one of them  is really struggling to even remember her 3 Tiny Habits, let alone to do them. She confessed this in our team meeting and as honest confessions often do, this led to more confessions from other members -about Coca Cola for breakfast; Skittles under the pillow and plain old fried catfish and hot sauce (this confession from me- the vegetarian!).

So, we all slip up occasionally. What's the harm.  Well there is harm in a "slip up" IF it is used as a reason to "give up."  This is what I told them.

Slip up but don't give up-  This is a great approach to have in life, especially when you are trying to be a better you. Or even when you are trying to start a research project. Easy to say, harder to do. That is what I should have told them.

Our research project has had to adapt to change.  Last week we spoke to the head of residence halls and she is very enthusiastic about us bringing healthy eating habits to five freshmen residence halls....FIVE Freshmen dorms. We had planned for 30 participants not 300. So, I'm a little apprehensive about the program that we will bring to these potential participants, especially in the light of Cola for breakfast and night time Skittles.

I'm not giving up or anything like that,  but the slip-ups feel like failures to me.  I have a very hard time with failing...and that is my real confession.

One benefit of giving up dieting is the inevitable sense of failure a diet relapse will bring..but that doesn't mean that failures are all bad.  When  my lab team confessed their slip ups I should have said  more than "don't give up" But I first needed time to remind myself that failure is and has been my greatest teacher.. that starting again the day after the failure takes courage, determination and therefore builds character.  I had to remember that most of research is a succession of failures before the breakthrough.

Failures are necessary before the breakthrough.

From a faith perspective, there is no faith without failure...since it is the possibility of something won't work out that calls for faith that it will.

Slip up but don't give up..but if you must fail, then learn from it.