Perfected, Not Perfect

We are trained in our culture to be afraid of failure. We are used to watching movies and reading stories that do not allow for failure. We are taught that it makes us vulnerable and weak. But, when we go to, and through, failure is when we really get better. We must understand the concept of failure and its role in perfecting us in our health and training.

What does it really mean to be perfected? It isn’t being perfect. Being perfected means that we “count it all joy when we fall into various trials” and know that we can let failure and trials “perfect us” so that we are available and able to do everything that God has called us to. Failure is a part of going from Glory to Glory. It is a part of the process. Health is a process. It is Gods intention for us to get better and better as we become more and more like him. In health and in every aspect of life.

The concepts I want us to understand as it relates to failure is two-fold.  Firstly, we must not be afraid of setting goals that we may fail at. If we set goals that we are always hitting in our training, then we are not achieving our full potential. Think about it, if we set a goal to lose 1 pound a week and hit that goal then we will settle for those results. But if we set a goal that is bigger like losing 5 pounds per week but we only lose 3 pounds, then isn’t that much better? By setting bigger goals we push ourselves to achieve greater results, even if we experience “failure” as a result.

Secondly, we must go through failure if we want to get better. If we just go to failure we will never get better because failure is our current limit of ability. Here, I am talking about our ability to engage our muscles in movement, until after they fail – this means we have worn down every available muscle fiber, pushing our bodies to rebuild them, stronger. So, if we just toe the line of failure then we will never push the line any further and get better. We stay at our current level. This is how people fall into the infamous “plateau” that we try so hard to avoid. We can get better and better by using this concept.

Let’s be honest, it doesn’t feel good to fail. It is a vulnerable place to be in. But failure is an essential part of the process that all of us walk through to get better and better. I would encourage you to set goals and hold you accountable. We can’t do this alone. We need to have each other’s back as we partner in health. Are you willing to go to and through failure as you go from Glory to Glory?