Simplify Day 31 | Failure Doesn’t Make Me Any Less Awesome

Things over here are complicated.

Still.

And standing on the last day of the month, I’m feeling very much like a failure. I started out the month to simplify my life, my things, my attitude. But despite my best intentions and plans, I don’t feel like my life is much simpler.

I can blame the busy time of year. Or Julia’s birthday. Or my new obsession with Scandal. Or the mysterious rash that the doctors and my mother can’t agree if it’s an allergic reaction, eczema, or poison ivy. But there’s really no good reason for why I haven’t simplified this month like I thought I would. I just haven’t. My house is still full of stuff. I still spend way too much time overthinking and rethinking myself into a stand still. In my part of the world where I find strength in achieving a goal or finding a purpose every 30 Days, this is a big deal.

I’ve done a lot of these 30 Day challenges. A lot. And I can’t remember a month that has felt quite so much like a failure as this one does.

These 30 Days challenges, I have learned, are dripping with lessons. And one thing I have learned through all of my 30 Days it’s that failure doesn’t mean I’m finished, that it’s been a bad month, or that things aren’t happening how they are supposed to. I refuse to believe that.

Failure does not make me any less awesome.

I have learned that failure is a sign that I have tried. That I was willing to open myself to possibilities. That I recognized the need for change in myself. All of these are achievements in themselves that are so easy to overlook.

This is what I have to remember when I slip of my path or when I loose my way: Just because these 30 Days weren’t so shiny and perfect, doesn’t mean my next 30 Days won’t be. And it doesn’t mean that I can’t revisit this challenge to Simplify in a future 30 Days. In fact, look for it. Next time around I’ll set clearer goals. I’ll make you hold me more accountable. I’ll stretch myself further.

And until then, I am enjoying my curly hairy, and I’ll be looking for the black coffee in any situation.

In the meantime, tomorrow is the first of the month, and that means a whole new challenge to tackle with ever inch of my awesome being. Will you join me?