What it means

Let's take some time to reflect on the greatest accomplishments in our life...(really think of a few that stand out in your mind as "big wins")

It is often difficult to quickly recall all of the great things we have experienced as we grow older.  The stand out items are trumped by the next best thing that occurs.  The youth soccer game becomes the accepted college application and before you know it you remember the birth of your child.  I cannot attest to the impact of childbirth, and at the moment I am happy with keeping my distance.  

We live in our small selfish worlds for the most part and since our accomplishments are personal we internalize them and file it away.  Of course these moments shape who we are.  When you win that game of rock paper scissors or when the bit of code finally compiles you feel a sense of gratification.  Unfortunately this feeling quickly diminishes and so do the effects on your life.

If instead we take a look at the failures we have survived, the emotions will be much more severe.  They link to bad feelings, and bring into context the harshness of reality.

Life is beautiful!  I want to take a quick second to make this concrete.  We are offenders of sinking into poor perspective at times, but when you think about it we breathe, feel, and have meaningful connections.  But even the most beautiful things can really HURT.

I don't want to get into citing all of the failures I have learned from in my life or have watched others endure, that will build over time.  Rather I want to explain that we shouldn't be afraid to fail.  Its something to aim for.  

Now don't take this the wrong way.  Failure and success come in many flavors and can be perceived as vastly different goals depending on the context.

Recently I took on a self inflicted challenge that I will talk in more detail about in a future post.  The reason I bring it up is because part of the challenge was rowing 10,000 meters every day for 30 days.  That may or may not sound like a tough workout to you guys, but it is probably the most boring exercises I could have put myself through.  The positive outcome was I discovered Podcasts.  Yea...I am about a decade behind the fad.  

I listened to The Tim Ferris Show mainly since I really enjoyed his series of "4 Hour" books.  In his podcasts he asked his guests "How do you define success" or "Who is the first person to come to mind when you think 'Successful'".  Many of the guests could not answer this question definitively and none of them felt comfortable defining success.  Its a measure that really is based on the individual.  

Now I could make the same argument for failure.  What is failing to me could mean something completely different to someone else.  The point is not whether or not you can get consensus agreement on these issues.  The emotions triggered by either of them in the individual should be the real gauge of victory or loss.

The great feeling that comes along with a success is enhanced when it is preceded with failure.  We learn so much from our mistakes.  The measures we take to avoid to repeated failures naturally incentivize success.  Makes sense right?!  

What I am talking about is common sense and this website is meant to reinforce this sort of thought process.  

"Aiming to Fail" is not about tip toeing or become complacent.  

Push your limits and grow from every bit of negativity you experience. 

This can be about your career, relationships, or activities.  

Make decisions as if you have nothing to lose and you will play like you have everything to lose.

I encourage any readers to go out on a limb and write me at tylerwetzel4@gmail.com.  Tell everyone a story.  Give out advice.  Open our eyes to awesome stuff that pushes the limits. 

Getting an audience

This entry is the first of its kind for me.  A public blog post on my own website.  I want to thank a few people to kick this off and give credit where credit is due.

Jacob Bowles* pointed me to Squarespace and opened my eyes to the opportunities a personal domain can unlock. 

Nick Doucette is the creative mind behind the name of my website (aimingtofail.com) and a daily reminder that I need to work with a sense of urgency.  

My mom, for always leading by example and teaching me to speak my mind.

Writing is something I have always enjoyed.  Not in the sense of perfecting grammar or even making much sense, rather the free flowing culmination of feelings and experiences.

When I was in elementary school I played with the idea of writing books and failed multiple times at a young age.  Go figure.  A book is a commitment.  A long lasting, tiresome, and sometimes seemingly endless process that no child should take on as it would severely damp what life is about.  As you will see in future blog posts, this fear of commitment is a common theme in my life.

Even still, I excelled in writing along with math and science growing up, which is probably why I was never held back for my lacking skills in reading and comprehension.  All throughout grade school and college I found that writing essays was easy.  Using book summaries from Cliffnotes or Sparknotes I could embellish stories and analyze characters very quickly and bullshit enough to get me a passing grade and focus on what I liked,  working with my hands.

It was not until my most recent serious relationship ended in February 2012 that I found writing was more than just an academic exercise.  My childhood fascination with creation was reignited.  My letters were unedited, candid, and 100% real.  It felt great to vent it all out onto paper.  As a stoic and terse individual this was a good way of relaying my feelings.

Much of the time, however, my writing doesn't make sense to the reader.  Plagued with spelling and grammatical errors, the reaction was frustration and confusion, both feelings I wanted to settle not stir up.  I usually would end up reading the letter out loud and get choked up on my own words.

I decided that I should not wait until I have a emotional end to a relationship or an argument with someone to write.  The exercise of capturing thoughts on a multitude of topics is a great way enlighten yourself and others around you.

This blog is set to be a medium for me to relay whats on my mind in a more organized fashion.  I plan to complete my personal entries with a free write, quick read-through, and one edit.  The audience is you!  My friends, family, and anyone who hears about this through word of mouth.

I am beyond excited to get this project kicked off!

Aiming to fail is meant to highlight my intended way of life.  Seeking uncomfortable situations both personally and professionally in an attempt to grow and flourish.  I hope that you guys enjoy my posts.  I will also be posting guest writers who have a story on how they aimed to fail and grew from it, learned a valuable lesson, or fell flat on their face.

*(http://www.jakebowles.com/)