I walked to the front of the group, stood up straight, and with a big smile exclaimed, “Thank you, I failed!”
I then extended my arms and gave an unnecessarily dramatic bow like I’d just finished my Broadway debut.
From there, I was greeted with a massive round of applause.
I’m taking an improv class, and one of the first things you learn is not only to accept that mistakes will happen, but to embrace failure with a flourish.
They call it the “failure bow.”
In this fast-paced comedic environment, it helps you not to focus on shrinking with embarrassment when you say the wrong thing.
I don’t like to think of myself as a perfectionist, but if I’m 100% honest, I try my best to appear to have it all together, even when on the inside, I often feel quite the opposite.
The beauty of taking this class is that I’m consistently reminded that mistakes are inevitable, and we get to decide how we respond to them.
You can beat yourself up or shake it off and try again.
Because failure is only temporary if you’re willing to keep going.
