This morning I was driving in the car and "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People came on the radio. There's a section in the song where the chorus is done in whistling. When that part came on, I broke out in a beautifully lyrical whistle. But, the thing is...I can't whistle.
When I was a kid, I tried to learn how to whistle countless times. I couldn't blow out and make any sound. Throughout my adolescence, I'd try and fail. Whistling was something out of my reach.
As an adult, I suppose I forgot about whistling. It's something I'm never around. But, when that chorus kicked in on the radio, I instinctively whistled my little heart out. And as soon as I was about five second in, the shock set in. Amber...can...whistle!
Are there things you've tried in your life and failed at? Starting a business. Balancing a budget. Writing a book. We all have things we've tried to do which ended in failure. Most of us have even tried multiple times before we decided to give up. But, it's never too late to try again.
Who cares if a year has passed. Or five or ten. Maybe that break is just what you needed. Perhaps the life experience you've obtained during that time, your environment, your mindset, or some other circumstance has changed just enough to turn that former failure into a raging success.
So, today, I invite you to revisit something which you previously failed at during your life. A big thing or a small one. It doesn't matter. Just give it another try. Who knows. Maybe your failure has an expiration date just like mine did.
* Disclaimer: I never really knew the words to "Pumped Up Kicks" until I wrote this post. Click here for the lyrics and an interesting debate on the meaning behind the song, some defending it saying it's about bullying and others upset that it's about school shootings.
