Failure Is Not An Option

This is a page, torn out of a magazine, laminated, and turned into a magnet. THIS hangs on our refrigerator, and has for MANY years!!! Lately I've heard a lot of talk about failure/success, and it got me thinking about the way people view failure.
What is failure to you????
The simple definition according to google, is this:
Noun. 1. Lack of success 2. An unsuccessful person, enterprise, or thing.

At our house {as with most things} we don't see things quite that way.  We consider Failure to be when you give less than 100%. Yep. It's that simple. If you choose to do something, give it all you've got, and you will not fail. You may not be the person crowned the "Victor" at the end, but you have succeeded, just the same. You will have learned from it, you will grow from it, and you will move forward with it! The way I see it, if you do the best you can, with what you've got, you aren't failing. If you learn from the experience, gain something from it, and can do better in the future, then do better in the future, but you have not failed. Everything is a life lesson. Some lessons are more painful to learn, but not failures!! These lessons help you to become the best human being you can, and they will help form, the person you become, in the future. How can you consider that a failure.  Now, if you choose to do things half-assed, then you fail!

Of course, to us this is more than just a sign on the fridge, it's a motto, it's a way of life. It's the way we approach all things. If it's worth doing, then Give 100%.

Have you seen that commercial where the lady is running a marathon or race of some sort, and the dude drives around making signs for her, and at the end he holds up a pizza box that says I love you or some such thing? Well, the first time I saw it, I was like what the heck, I never get cute signs, when I run! My husband doesn't show up with cute encouraging signs. Then I realized, NO, he doesn't. But he's posted a sign on the fridge, for everyone to see, every day! Every time you go to leave the house, or pass through the kitchen, there it is! Reminding you, Failure Is Not An Option. He sets an example to everyone in this household, in the way he lives, that Failure Is Not An Option. He always gives 100%. I don't need a bunch of silly signs along the way, I've got one big sign, it's there all the time, reminding me, that I can NOT fail!
Some may look at our lifestyle and judge the way we live. Our house isn't great, our vehicles aren't great, and we don't have a lot of things. But we don't consider that a failure on our part either, we consider that a conscious choice to live life to the fullest, and raise our kids living life to the fullest. To live with no regrets.

Society may try to tell you what a failure is, and what a success is, but at the end of the day, if you can say "I did my best, I gave it my all!!" then Failure Is NOT an Option.