Anyone who has worked with me knows that I hate the term "FAILURE" with every fiber of my being. Selfishly, I don't like how it makes me feel. Professionally, I don't like the way it makes creative people stop before they start. Honestly, I don't like how easy it is to find failure when I go looking for it in myself.
And that is the problem with the dichotomy between the terms "SUCCESS" and "FAILURE." One is impossible to attain and the other is impossible to ignore. Which means, neither should exist in your vocabulary --- because neither have any merit. Your failure is someone else's dream and vice versa.
Think of the artists that you believe have attained success. Do it right now. Now take a beat and realize that you have NO REAL understanding of what it is that that person is trying to achieve. To them, their success might still be to come. What you are really thinking about is the fact that they simply have something that you do not have. They have achieved something that you wish to achieve --- Perhaps that is money, or acclaim, or love, or connection --- but none of those things are success. Money is measurable. Stats are real. Love and connection have visceral physical and emotional responses. So tell me again what "SUCCESS" is? And why are you living your life trying to achieve it, when tomorrow it won't be enough?
SUCCESS IS NOT MEASURABLE BECAUSE IT IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
It is so easy to see all of the things that make you a "FAILURE." You are forever being told that what you have to offer isn't enough. That the body you were born with isn't good enough. That your art is wrong and will never make you money. That you are too visible on social media. That you are not available enough on social media. That you are "fake." That you are "too real." That your honesty is utterly dishonest. When everyone is telling you that all of the things that you work so hard to create, cultivate, and consume are less than --- it is terrifyingly easy to feel like you have failed. But if success can't be measured, then why do we need "failure" to try and show it to us?
THESE WORDS HAVE SET US UP FOR A LIFETIME OF DISAPPOINTMENT --- AND I'M DONE.
Why isn't it also terrifyingly easy to feel like a success? Because if you could feel "successful" every day of your life, you would never get out of bed. "SUCCESS" is also a terrible word. Because it means that you have limited ability to grow. People who are "successful" are rarely satisfied. They keep pushing to the next level. They must be "the next great thing" again. "SUCCESS" sticks to you like the same way "FAILURE" does. It provides drive towards unattainable perfection.
I BELIEVE IN THE TERMS "ACHIEVEMENT" AND "LAZINESS."
We all know that if we are "lazy," we can't achieve the things we truly want to achieve. We must find the drive to push ourselves forward. It's not great to live in a constant state of sloth. However, sometimes laziness is necessary for growth. One must take a break, or change paths, or pause for self-reflection and revaluation. It is OKAY to be lazy every now and then ---do not punish yourself for it. It's not a failure. "Achievement" is celebration without a cage. It allows for growth without the possibility of "FAILURE." Achievement can be measure and attained in the realities of our world. It is an actuality --- and those are rare.
FREE YOURSELF FROM "SUCCESS" AND "FAILURE."
THESE TERMS DON'T SERVE YOU AND THEY NEVER WILL.